Thursday, June 14, 2012

Endorsement: Laura Hauser-Menting For Assembly District 71

Community.

There was a time when that word had more meaning in Wisconsin than it does today.

When a neighbor or a friend had a calamity strike, the people in the community would come together to help in whatever way they could.  If a young woman lost her husband, friends and neighbors would help the grieving widow keep up the house or watch the kids or just bring over a meal.  Anything to make her life easier.  Or if the elderly neighbor took a fall, the community would pull together to make sure the lawn was mowed, the snow shoveled or groceries bought and delivered.

There are still places in Wisconsin where this happens, although it seems that these examples are harder to come by in recent days.

More often, it's every man, woman or child for themselves.  The growing mantra, especially among right wing extremists, is "You're on your own."  They become resentful if they find out that there taxes is being used to help anyone less fortunate out.  It's almost as if they don't want to be part of the community they live in.  Or at least until it is they that needs the help.

And that is a really sad way to live.  Nor does it make the community a better place for anyone, much less everyone.

Laura Hauser-Menting
Photo courtesy of her campaign
This was a recurring theme that kept coming up last Sunday, when I had the distinct pleasure of spending the afternoon with Laura Hauser-Menting, candidate for the 71st District of the State Assembly.  I have already referred to her as one of Wisconsin's up and comers and someone to keep an eye on.

Having served in many positions, including, until recently, Co-Chair of the Portage County Democrats, Laura has had the opportunity to travel all over Wisconsin.  She has seen first hand a lot of the damage and pain that Scott Walker's and the Republicans' agenda has caused to our state's working families.  That is why she understands that it is important for communities, and the state as a whole, to again pull together and correct the downward spiral the state is in.

It is this very need to pull together and help each other out which has brought her to calling out Sean Duffy's refusal to represent, much less even meet, the people as he should or to condemn the Republicans' agenda to make Wisconsin a right-to-work-for-less state.

And even though she is for many of the more progressive goals, such as green energy and communities pulling together, don't make mistake her for a stereotypical latte-sipping, arugula-munching Democrat.

She is a strong, independent woman who grew up learning Wisconsin's traditions.  She can wield a gun as well as many and better than most, and respects the Second Amendment as much as the First Amendment.  She can and does work on her own vehicles (both trucks), as well as her own plumbing and electrical work around the house. She even rides a Harley!

And while she knows the importance of being part of the community, she is also strongly independent and not afraid to speak her mind and stand up for her beliefs and values, even if it doesn't always match up with the party line.

She also understands the importance of self-reliance, which she has instilled in her son and daughter, whom she raised by herself after her husband passed away thirteen years ago.

Best of all, and most importantly, she has a sharp, analytical mind which naturally seeks out ways to organizing things and finding answers that are outside of the box.

Altogether, she is one of the few candidates that I have ever felt excited about for who they are as opposed to just not being the other guy.

Because of her ability to see all sides, work across the aisle, yet stick up for her principles and for the working families of our state, she is clearly the best choice for the people of the 71st Assembly District, and she has my full endorsement.  She will be able to pave the way to bring not just jobs, but good-paying, family-supporting jobs to not just Central Wisconsin, but to the entire state.  She will stand up for our kids, make sure that a good education is not just something for the wealthy.

You can find her on Facebook here.  And because Laura is running a true grassroots campaign, doing most of the work herself, please show her a little love and donate to her Act Blue account.

P.S. It is very important that we all do what we can to help Laura.  She is one of nine candidates running just for the Democratic nomination, including one fake Democrat.  We cannot let the wrong people continue to get elected.

1 comment:

  1. There is more than one fake Democrat running against Laura. This is Jennifer Dolan, the Democrat who opened up her home as a recall office in Wisconsin Rapids. In South Wood County, I am credited with organizing a signature gathering effort that surprised everyone. Katrina Shankland may try taking credit for that, but she very nearly sabotaged the recall effort here out of a personal vendetta she launched against me, pushing to close down the recall office I set up in my home. There was no money for a recall office here, and many say that the recall effort would have been nil had I not opened up my home, but Shankland convinced founders of the Central Wisconsin for Democracy PAC to take the money they earned off of sales of a tee shirt that I designed and look to rent an office elsewhere. I GAVE my home as an office, but she was looking at having a grassroots group spend money they did not have. I was bullied to tell people that I felt it best to close the office in favor of a larger location, even though I never wanted to close this office and even contacted Mike Tate's office about this. A few days past, and I had received a message from the state party that declared that the state party wanted me to keep my office open and was sorry for the mess caused by Katrina Shankland, noting that she would be moved off of the Walker recall and sent to help gather signatures to recall Terry Moulton. What, you may ask, spurred Katrina's vendetta against me? A simple miscommunication. I expressed concern to her about a new volunteer, and she took that as me saying that I wanted to close the office ran out of my house. In reality, I had to fight to keep it open. Katrina had a hard time when it came to working with volunteers... possibly because she had never actually been a volunteer herself. She has a bad habit of talking at people, and not listening to the concerns of people. This is no one that you would want as your representative. She has collected a lot of money from out of state donors. That can be difficult to compete with, but it is also a big red flag. Seems to me that she is campaigning in Scott Walker's footsteps. I live in the 72nd District, so I had not followed this race closely, but I would advise the people in the 71st District to vote for Laura Hauser-Menting. She is a true progressive, and a true Democrat.

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