Posted on 03/23/2021 4:00:59 PM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
We are each of us ultimately responsible only for ourselves and our own actions, yet the degree to which we may be held accountable for the misdeeds of others apparently varies by political party affiliation.
On Wednesday, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel published on its website what can only be described as a hit piece on Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson in which reporters Molly Beck and Patrick Marley highlighted the fact that Johnson is “taking fire from a liberal group for accepting more than $13,000 from a Washington state business owner who refused to hire Muslims and replied to emailed jokes about killing them with smiley faces.”
“Top GOP donor Peter Zieve, a Washington state aerospace CEO who refused to hire Muslims, replied to jokes about killing them with smiley faces and told employees they must have babies to keep America from being ‘backfilled with rubbish from the desperate and criminal populations of the third world,'” Beck and Marley wrote. “Zieve, who grew up in Wisconsin donated $13,200 to Johnson between 2010 and 2016, before Zieve was ordered by the Washington Attorney General to pay $485,000 after an investigation alleging discrimination by the company and retaliation against employees.”
After printing left-wing group American Bridge’s allegations verbatim, Beck and Marley breathlessly reported that a spokesman for Johnson “did not say whether Johnson is keeping the donations” even though a Mississippi Senator did.
They further chastised Johnson for accepting $5,000 in donations from a freight company founder who “wrote in a 2015 self-published memoir that Black people became ‘more belligerent’ after the expansion of welfare programs in the mid-20th century and said colleges and universities were ‘cluttered’ by courses studying issues related to Black Americans, women, and LGBT Americans.”
Johnson, of course, is meant to answer for the racism alleged against two of his donors. This is the obvious premise of the entire story. Johnson is, by association, guilty of the sins of his supporters.
At almost the exact moment it was published Wednesday afternoon, felony charges of possession of child pornography were filed against Milwaukee County Judge Brett Blomme. The videos that Blomme allegedly shared through the messaging app Kik are so shocking, so vile, and so heartbreaking that descriptions of them contained in the criminal complaint cannot in good conscience be reprinted here.
Suffice it to say that Blomme is charged with consuming and sharing some of the most heinous abuse of children imaginable; material so stomach-turning that a mere description of it in the complaint brought tears to the eyes of this hardened reporter…who also happened to be the only reporter, it seems, to ask Blomme’s many Democratic supporters about them.
Why is Johnson made to answer for the transgressions of his donors but nearly every player in Milwaukee Democrat circles doesn’t have to answer for the behavior of a man they promoted largely because of his “character” and “values?”
While Blomme is presumed to be innocent of the charges against him until they are proven in court, the standard in politics—as evidenced by the Journal Sentinel’s coverage of Senator Johnson’s donors—is that one is presumed to be guilty of the crimes of others unless he is badgered into answering for them.
Strangely enough, though, Democrats have not been. Blomme has been a major player in liberal politics for years, starting with his work on Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett’s first gubernatorial campaign in 2002. Barrett and Blomme became close, and Barrett’s backing propelled Blomme’s success as a community organizer.
Eventually, Barrett appointed Blomme as Chairman of the Milwaukee Board of Zoning Appeals and wrote to members of Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers’ Judicial Selection Advisory Committee to “enthusiastically recommend Brett Blomme for appointment to the Milwaukee County Circuit Court.”
“I believe Brett has the qualifications, integrity and values needed to be a successful member of our community’s judiciary,” Barrett wrote.
Blomme wasn’t appointed, but because of his deep ties to the Democratic Party of both Milwaukee and Wisconsin as President of the Cream City Foundation, he quickly emerged as Democrats’ choice to run against incumbent Judge Paul Dedinsky last Spring.
“Brett is the change we need to help fix our broken criminal justice system,” wrote Congresswoman Gwen Moore, a Democrat, in her resounding endorsement of Blomme’s candidacy. “He is a former public defender who has dedicated his career to fighting for justice and equity.”
Milwaukee Common Council President Cavalier Johnson, also a Democrat (who serves in a technically non-partisan position), also endorsed Blomme as someone who “has dedicated his entire career to making Milwaukee a more inclusive place for all of us.” In her endorsement of Blomme, Milwaukee Alderwoman and former State Assemblywoman JoCasta Zamarripa said “our courts need more people that share Milwaukee County’s rich diverse values.”
The Democratic Party of Wisconsin made a $10,583.64 in-kind contribution to his campaign. Liberal advocacy and community organizing groups Planned Parenthood, Voces de la Frontera, Fair Wisconsin, Wisconsin Justice Initiative, Victory Fund, and Grassroots South Shore all endorsed his campaign. So did labor unions AFSCME, the United Auto Workers, the Milwaukee Area Labor Council, AFL-CIO, the Milwaukee Building Construction Trades Council, AFT Local 212, and the IBEW Local 494, which also made a $250 monetary donation to his campaign.
As of this writing, there is no evidence that a single one of these elected leaders and prominent community organizations has responded to or has even been asked about the charges against Blomme (save for by this reporter, who has yet to receive a response).
Why is this? Why is Johnson made to answer for the transgressions of his donors but nearly every player in Milwaukee Democrat circles doesn’t have to answer for the behavior of a man they promoted largely because of his “character” and “values?”
Neither Beck nor Marley nor any other reporter at the Journal Sentinel even bothered to mention Blomme’s deep ties to the Democratic Party, its leaders, and organizations that support it in either of the two stories (here and here) it has published about his arrest and charges.
Only Barrett, who preemptively issued a press release expressing his “complete surprise” at Blomme’s arrest, was apparently ever asked about his past support for him.
A Democratic Congresswoman wasn’t. The Democratic Common Council President wasn’t. The Democratic Party of Wisconsin wasn’t. Democrat-aligned advocacy groups and labor unions weren’t. And they likely won’t be.
A Republican Senator, however, will be pressured to answer for a supposedly racist freight company owner who gave half as much to Johnson over five years as the Wisconsin Democratic Party gave to Blomme in one day.
The overwhelming support of Milwaukee’s Democratic machine powered Blomme to a win last April and resulted in his installation on, of all things, Milwaukee County Children’s Court. Not a single member of that machine, though, is liable to face a single tough question about it.
This isn’t just journalistic malpractice; it’s a dereliction of duty. We as consumers of news, as voters, and as citizens whose lives could potentially have been impacted by Brett Blomme’s judicial decisions need answers from those who put him in power by assuring us of the quality of his character.
They may not be responsible for his actions, but their actions put him in a position of power, and they need to answer for (or at least be asked about) it.
What amazes me is that he actually got arrested and charged - the Socialist Democrats in this state aren't circling the wagons - they're too busy picking on Republican Senator Ron Johnson!
More typical behavior for an important DemonRAT than people are willing to face up to. Blomme is quite representative of that class.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel published on its website what can only be described as a hit piece on Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson in which reporters Molly Beck and Patrick Marley highlighted... left-wing group American Bridge’s allegations verbatim... Why is Johnson made to answer for the transgressions of his donors but nearly every player in Milwaukee Democrat circles doesn’t have to answer for the behavior of a man they promoted largely because of his “character” and “values?”
More:
All Woke Up: Political woke money dump
MADISON — You know why Milwaukee Congresswoman Gwen Moore supported Brett Blomme last year for Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge? Because, the Democrat said, Blomme was “the change we need to help fix our broken criminal justice system.”
A year later, after being elected to the bench as a children’s court judge, Blomme, 38, faces several counts of child pornography after prosecutors allege he used a messaging app to upload videos of children being sexually abused.
Now Democrat politicians who gushed over this prominent leader in Milwaukee’s LGBTQ community can’t get away from Blomme fast enough.
As the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports, many of the Democrat leaders Blomme has supported over the years are dumping the judge’s campaign contributions like so much trash at a landfill. Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett says he’ll donate the $300 in donations he’s received from Blomme over the years. And U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, a gay senator from Madison, told the newspaper she will unload the $1,000 Blomme contributed to her 2018 campaign to charities.
Blomme took in more than $65,000 in campaign contributions for his run for Milwaukee County judge, more than $10,000 of that from the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. No word on whether the judge is giving any of that cash back.
It’s not clear whether Moore donated cash, but she certainly gave her full-throated endorsement to Blomme.
Of course, these Woke politicians fell all over themselves to support Blomme for his support of LGBTQ+ initiatives, like “Drag Queen Story Hour.” Blomme formerly served as president of the Cream City Foundation, a LGBTQ advocacy group that advertised DQSH, events “for children aged 3 to 8 years old.” The “literacy events” are intended to “capture children’s imagination and help them explore their gender fluidity through glamorous, positive and unabashedly queer role models,” according to the Drag Queen Story Hour’s official website.
Now, the Democrats who backed Blomme are dragging his campaign cash out of their coffers.
The painfully politically Woke do have their limits. Apparently being tied to an accused pedophile is the line.
https://empowerwisconsin.org/all-woke-up-political-woke-money-dump/
Our only hope of electing Trump/DeSantis/etc in 2024 is election integrity.
Not sure if that can be accomplished...
Oh yeah? Well, anti-Asian rhetoric and the Capitol insurrection was all caused by assault-style weapons being handed out by homophobic cisgendered white privileged greedy businessmen. /rimshot
LOL! Sad, but true! ;)
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