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Dear Editor:
The major story now is not voter fraud. Over 50 lawsuits trying to overturn the election that were filed in multiple states have either been withdrawn or dismissed. Dismissed by a variety of judges including SCOTUS nominated to their position by both Republican and Democratic presidents. Voter fraud is not a story.
As horrendous as it is, the major story is not COVID.
The major story is that we have put the wrong people into positions of leadership. If we had more responsible leadership from the White House, the U.S. would not be leading the world in COVID deaths. We would not have nearly 300,000 Americans dead and an additional estimated 3000+ Americans dying daily while the majority of citizens wait months for a vaccine. We could have had an infrastructure bill focused on supporting working Americans and building an economy benefitting all Americans, but we don't even though it was promised multiple times.
If we had responsible leadership in the U. S. Senate, we could have had a COVID stimulus bill this summer. All it would have taken was for Senate leadership to negotiate a bill beginning with the Heroes Act passed by the U. S. House in May. Instead, we have a Senate that is willing to let millions of unemployed Americans join miles-long queues at food banks, that sees no urgency to provide funding for police, fire fighters, teachers, and other essential state employees, that is willing to let millions of small business go bankrupt, that is willing to watch millions of American be evicted from their homes and apartments. The emotional toll alone on Americans waiting for their government to take action on their behalf is devastating.
If we had responsible leadership in the Wisconsin Legislature that was more concerned about Wisconsinites than playing revenge and power games with the governor, we could have had consistent messaging from the state on how to protect ourselves and our healthcare workers from the ravages of COVID. We could have had a plan for controlling the virus and a strategy for protecting businesses. We could have had a legislature in session and working for us instead of one in recess and doing nothing for 8 months.
The story is we don't have these things because we've been putting the wrong people into positions of leadership.
Beverly Pestel
Richland Center, WI