Encouragement in the Face of Corruption
Need a place to get a little encouragement or to share some thoughts? Come to our office for Coffee, Tea & Democracy from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. this Saturday. Or, feeling like you need to be more present? Ozaukee Indivisible has a protest in Port Washington on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. Or maybe you have some ideas about how we should gather and socialize; feel free to contact the Ozaukee Democratic Party!
Can we talk about this week’s Texas Republican primary for a moment? Texas is an interesting state. We have friends and family there. Many of you have probably visited Texas over the course of the years. Historically, Texas used to be the home of great patriots and political heroes. If you ever get to Austin, Texas, I urge you to visit Lyndon B. Johnson’s Presidential Library. It is very fun and very moving. Texas is the home of Gov. Ann Richards, who was a great Democratic governor. Her daughter, Cecile Richards, was the president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
Since that time, we have seen Texas become very red. George W. Bush was governor there, and now they have Greg Abbott. On Tuesday, Ken Paxton beat John Cornyn by 28 points in the GOP Primary. Paxton was endorsed by Trump, in spite of Senator Cornyn’s 99% Trump following voting record. Steve Schmidt describes Paxton best: “The most corrupt individual appearing on an American ballot in 2026 is Ken Paxton, which is an extraordinary achievement in an era overflowing with crooks, fanatics, liars, degenerates and cowards. He is a Texas-sized embarrassment preparing to become a national stain.”
After Trump's 2016 presidential victory, I was in a meeting with union leaders and organizers in Madison. I made a very unpopular statement. I said that there were probably people in the room who thought Trump’s lewd statements about women on the Access Hollywood tape were cool. That they privately found it funny or worse. Steve Schmidt would agree.
Today‘s Republicans, according to Schmidt, “don’t recoil from corruption. They thrill to it. They see the indictments, the scandals, the grotesque abuses of office and the endless ethical sewage surrounding the man, and instead of shame they feel excitement. Their enthusiasm deepens as the degradation worsens. This is one of the defining pathologies of Trump-era America: Corruption is no longer disqualifying… it’s the attraction.”
Corruption is their flag. It is not ours. Corruption will eventually bring them all down.