When Act 10 passed and the budget was in place, I actually met
with Senator Fitzgerald in his office at the Capitol. I asked him what his plans were for guiding
us back to a place of healthy civility and normalcy. He
scoffed at the question and told me that he did not have the ability to have
such impact. So I reminded him that he and Governor Walker certainly had a
heavy and effective hand in pitting people against one another and creating a
tremendous amount of divisiveness across the state. I am not sure why this next part surprised
me, but Senator Fitzgerald never even showed any ounce of concern over my bold
statement.
The saddest part of the entire exchange was when he
responded back with a callous remark indicating that he had no desire to even try
brining us back to a more positive light. He expressed that he was satisfied
with the accomplishments of getting Act 10 passed and the budget in place, and the
means of getting that done were justified.
He then asked me what I intended to do. I
talked about my continued volunteerism in the local schools and community. Senator Fitzgerald literally laughed at me
and those who feel that such efforts make any difference. He then told me that the only way to bring
real change was to be involved in politics, not volunteering. He
told me that it was “absurd” to think that such efforts could possible make any
true difference in the big picture.
In the end I left the meeting feeling deeply affirmed that Senator
Fitzgerald was not at all the man who I thought that he was when I voted for
him in the past. I walked away feeling
as though I had just met the devil in disguise and that I had been
betrayed. From that point forward I have
continually found examples indicating that much of the extremism in the
Wisconsin GOP and in the Capitol seem to have a trail back to the man who I
will never vote for again.
I may not like every piece of legislation that comes along
or the impact on my pocketbook, but I do expect my legislators to be genuinely respectful
of the impact that their actions have on us as constituents and the culture of
our great state. Unfortunately Scott
Fitzgerald has repeatedly demonstrated in actions and in words that he feels
differently. The more that I reach out
to him and the more that I pay attention, the more I see that he does not
intend to change. Frankly, I have
reached the point where I do not even trust him anymore and I worry about what
he still has in store for us if left in office.
My list of concerns towards Scott Fitzgerald is long, but I
am especially bothered by his comments made in the attached video back in
December 2010. The flowing is just a sample
of what he said:
"Listen we have new majorities, if you talk to the members
of the House of the Representatives and the way they view the world right now,
the more feathers you ruffle right now the stronger you are going to be
politically. I don't ever remember an environment where that existed before. It
was always go along, get along. A little on the edges, yeah we would take a few
shots here and there at some political enemies, but in the end we all just want
to be on the same page. That just doesn't exist right now. I've never seen that
before, it gives us a lot of leeway and a lot of chain to make some significant
changes."
As a Republican I want greater civility for our state, and a
senator with a genuine desire to serve the people – not a bully! On June 5th I will be voting for Lori Compas,
not Scott Fitzgerald
Sincerely,
Gary
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