Seriously, are Senator Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison, and the Democratic Party of Wisconsin so obtuse? Or did they decide they can just say what they want and get away with it?
In reaction to a digital billboard display criticizing Baldwin put up by the Republican Party of Wisconsin, a Democratic spokesperson actually issued this statement to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
“Playing politics with the problems at the VA is wrong. Senator Baldwin worked with veterans groups like the American Legion and the VFW, with Republican Senators, and with the family of a Wisconsin veteran who died at the Tomah VA and together, passed a law to crack down on the over prescribing of opioids throughout the VA.”
So on the one hand playing politics with the problems of the Veterans Administration is wrong, according to the Democrats. On the other hand they’re going to play politics by telling you what Baldwin did to fix the situation after her office sat on a report while veterans died at the Tomah VA Hospital.
And indeed, a quick look at the Baldwin campaign Twitter page shows Baldwin… playing politics with the problems of the Tomah VA.
We’re seeing progress at Tomah & VAs across the country b/c of the Simcakoskis’ advocacy. Honored to be a part of ithttps://t.co/RaGjyHfkyj
— Tammy Baldwin (@tammybaldwin) July 31, 2017
And, of course, who will forget Baldwin receiving the Glauber rehabilitation treatment in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel?
But it doesn’t stop there. The Democrats also tried to tar a potential Republican opponent Kevin Nicholson with the problems of the VA, although Nicholson explains he was in contact with Veterans Affairs Secretary John Scocos and his successor Dan Zimmerman as problems came to Nicholson’s attention.
The problem for Democrats is that, no matter how hard they try, they can’t erase Baldwin’s record. In 2014, Baldwin’s office sat on a report for months that there were problems at the VA Hospital in Tomah, WI. A “whistleblower,” former Tomah VA employee Ryan Honl, learned Baldwin had the report and tried to make her go public with it. He wanted the senator to investigate the problems at the hospital but was ignored by Baldwin’s office.
When the Green Bay Press Gazette broke the story, Baldwin attempted to deflect blame by firing an aide and trying to make the aide sign a non-disclosure agreement. The aide not only rejected a generous settlement that included the non-disclosure agreement, she accused Baldwin of trying to cover up the truth of what happened.
Wisconsin Democrats are desperate to rehabilitate Baldwin’s image. Unfortunately, the reason why they will say anything or do anything to try to deflect from Baldwin’s record is because they think it will work.
