TINA L. SCOTT
EDITOR
Rebecca Kleefisch, one of four Republican candidates competing to run for Governor of Wisconsin, visited Merrill on Tuesday evening, July 19, 2022.
Speaking before a group of about 50 area residents at the new Lincoln County Republican Party Headquarters office at 809 E. First St. (formerly First Street Coffee Station), Kleefisch emphasized the importance of voting in the upcoming Aug. 9, 2022, Partisan Primary Election and said she isn’t just looking for Republican votes; she’s asking independents to vote for her, too.
During her meet-and-greet, Kleefisch emphasized her experience as former Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin and said if Wisconsin residents aren’t happy with the way things are currently being run in Wisconsin, she is the candidate who can turn things around for the state.
“I am the only one who can beat Tony Evers this fall,” Kleefisch said. “I am the only PROVEN conservative fighter in this race … And I ask you to check out my record.”
“I think what the people of Wisconsin are hoping for right now is someone with the proven leadership experience, who has actually understudied this job for eight years and understands what it is like to be there after a deep recession,” she said. “After the ‘07 to ‘09 recession, … our economy had been decimated.”
“Jim Doyle had essentially closed Wisconsin for business, and what we came into was a promise that we were gonna open Wisconsin for business again, create certainty and stability, and that’s exactly what we did. Under the Walker-Kleefisch administration, we made promises and then we kept them,” Kleefisch said.
“During our administration, we did concealed carry. we did photo ID, castle doctrine, prevailing wage reform, right to work, we defunded Planned Parenthood of all State dollars, we shut down five Planned Parenthood Clinics and ended tele-abortions in the state of Wisconsin, we took school choice and expanded it across the state, we did more robust programs in Milwaukee and Kenosha and Racine, and we didn’t stop there. … We condensed and dropped tax rates, saving taxpayers $13 billion, and the granddaddy of them all, Act 10 which has now saved $15 billion,” she said. She cited her contribution to Act 10, creating and passing a balanced budget, saving “countless thousands of jobs,” and making Wisconsin “one of only three fully-funded pension systems in the entire United States of America.”
“We in Wisconsin, we fought like dogs for that victory, and we got it,” Kleefisch said. “I’ve been up against the mob that they’re gonna throw at me, [and] I’ve been up against all the money that they’re gonna throw at me, before. And I’ve won. Statewide. Four separate times. I am the only one ready to take this on, because I’ve done it before. And I have won. I am the only one who knows how to take on this job, because I have been there and done that during the darkest circumstances.”
“If you guys are ready to run fast again, I’m ready to lead,” she said. “Because I’ve been tested, and I have proven to you that I make promises and I keep them. And here are the promises I’m making to you today.”
“As your Governor, we’re gonna make Wisconsin affordable again,” Kleefisch said. “As your Governor, we’re gonna make Wisconsin safe again. And as your Governor, we’re actually going to have good education where our children can go to school, in person, without masks, and no [required] COVID-19 vaccinations.”
“That was the ultra Cliff Notes version of things, but I want you to know why we are going to win,” she said. “All of the momentum is with us right now. You know, I understand that I am not a millionaire. But I can also tell you … I am going to be the hardest working person out there.”
“You guys know that I can’t be outworked. I mean the talk show hosts joke wherever two or more are gathered, Rebecca Kleefisch is there. And that’s how it’s always been. I’ve spent 12 years building relationships in this state, and relationships still matter.”
Kleefisch called upon supporters to use their own personal relationships to help get out the vote to help her succeed in the primary. “… This race is far too important. We can’t lose this,” she said.
“If we lose this, look forward to another four years of Tony Evers steam rolling your individual lives and liberties, our Constitution and our very hopes and dreams, a generation of children–and I know that sounds dramatic, but I am one of the moms whose kids were literally locked out of their classrooms and sent home to homeschool on their stupid Chrome books while sitting on their beds. … [without] rural broadband, and they had to use their cell phones as hot spots,” Kleefisch said.
There is no one better equipped to take on Evers than me, she said–“Somebody who has actually been harmed by his policies”–and no one better to take on the abortion issue–“than an actual woman, and I’m not a biologist, but I’m pretty sure I’m a woman. And I am the only one in this race who actually understands how to speak with compassion and empathy – not sympathy – empathy about Roe,” she said.
One man in the crowd spoke up. “People are not informed,” he said. “Get on her website. Read her story. … She’s a wonderful lady. She’s pro-life. She’s pro-family. She’s pro-gun. She’s pro-business. She’s pro-America.”
Kleefisch fielded questions from those gathered and said, in response to anyone who thinks she can’t win: “You know, that’s the same story that they told back in 2010 when I ran for Lieutenant Governor … I mean, the Republican Party hated me. I was a tea party mom with a small business, I was pushing a baby carriage speaking at tea parties across the state, and I was running at that time against five men … All of these guys had much more experience than me, and the Republican Party loathed me. I was the one voted OFF the endorsement ballot at the Republican Party State Convention FIRST. I mean, they really did not want anything to do with me. I mean, it was a rotten year! And despite it all, despite even being diagnosed with full-blown cancer two weeks before my primary and having to have emergency surgery, despite getting out of the hospital on election day in order to have just enough time to go vote for myself–and maybe to my victory party. I beat all of those guys–all five of them–by 21 points. You punch me 9 times, I get up 10!”
“And this is what we need. We need a proven conservative fighter who’s already run and won. Statewide, four times. Twice all by myself – no Scott Walker, just me.”
“… Look at my record. Because I made promises and I kept them, and the best indication of what you will do in the future is what you have done in the past. When someone shows you who they are, believe them. I have shown you who I am. Others in this race, … are just now TELLING you who they are, but what we have seen over the last two weeks is when you actually look, and SEE, they’ve shown them someone completely different. I ask you to do your research …”
Kleefisch also fielded comments and questions about DNR management, hunting permits, First Amendment rights, the Attorney General’s office, and others from the group gathered. She said she was endorsed by Wisconsin United for Freedom, has an A rating with the NRA, and was endorsed by the Firearm Owners Association of Wisconsin.