By LaKeshia N. Myers
Representative LaKeshia Myers
In her 1988 hit, “Giving You the Best That I Got”, Anita Baker asks the question, “Ain’t there something I can give you, in exchange for everything you give to me?” I thought about this song and pondered this question when looking at our most recent cause of national embarrassment: former Justice Michael Gableman and his sham election audit. I really want to ask Republican legislative leadership, is Gableman really the best you had to offer for this process? If so, you need to be ashamed; I’m certain you are, but because of your loyalty to Donald Trump and the vocal minority that runs your party, you continue to waste taxpayer money looking for fraud that we clearly know doesn’t exist.
I can only imagine Gableman’s selection was one made out of pity or internal Republican patronage; after all who would knowingly put an unlearned individual over the election audit process. Gableman’s declaration that, “Most people, myself included, do not have a comprehensive understanding or even any understanding of how elections work”; this may underscore why he hasn’t been an active voter in the election process. It also feeds further suspicions that the Republic Speaker of the Assembly knows this process is nothing more than a political ploy used to garner headlines and feed the Republican base. Why would he be concerned, it is not costing him anything, because the $680,000 price tag is being paid by the people of Wisconsin?
The truth of the matter is, there is no need for a forensic audit. We all know who won the 2020 election (hint: it wasn’t Trump). We have bigger fish to fry in Wisconsin and across the country; we are still battling the effects of COVID-19, we have roads and bridges that need repair, we have communities that need access to clean water, and we need reinvestment in broadband to link rural and urban populations. But instead of action, we are left with the clown show that is Gableman and his audit that leads to nowhere.
Republicans, get your act together. This audit is an embarrassment. The arguments are tired and the results have already been proven. There is no widespread fraud to be found.
Let it go; we have real work to do.