State senate debate gets heated over planned parenthood, voter ID

Incumbent Jennifer Shilling, Dan Kapanke and Chip DeNure debated Tuesday at UW-L

Things got a little testy between two candidates in a Wisconsin state senate debate Tuesday at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.

Incumbent Senator Jennifer Shilling and former Senator Dan Kapanke really went at it over Planned Parenthood and voter ID.

Family planning might not be a key issue in the race but it received strong reactions from the students in the audience.

When asked about cuts in state funding to Planned Parenthood, third-party candidate Chip DeNure said secret videos have shown “nasty information” about the organization, while Kapanke agreed about the way children are sometimes mistreated by parents.

“Animals treat their young better than we do sometimes,” Kapanke said as the crowd laughed before he interrupted them. “It’s not funny. We’re talking about lives here. We’re talking about lives.

“All of us are given that great gift of life, but some people aren’t having that choice — 150 million. What happens at Planned Parenthood is unconscionable when you think about it and when you look at those videos,” Kapanke said.

Shilling was quick to respond.

“Oh there we go again,” Shilling exclaimed. “When a man is asked about women’s health, they immediately go to abortion, instead of thinking about what those clinics are providing – mammograms, cancer screening.”

Kapanke claimed he wasn’t talking about abortion.  

The candidates also talked about student debt, voter ID, among other things.

“It is a fundamental right and we must make it as easy as possible to vote,” Kapanke said voting. 

He also brought up how he had talked to students who had plans of voting here and back home in Minnesota.

Kapanke also talked about the voter ID law.

“We make this voter ID law as seamless as possible for everybody and we’ve tried to do that, and, you know, where do you go where you don’t have to show an ID?” Kapanke said. “You need one to change your cell phone program for God’s sake.”

Schilling disagreed again.

“It’s a constitutional right,” Shilling argued. “Don’t confuse renting a movie using your driver’s license or opening a banking account or flying on an airplane with your constitutional right to vote.”

While Kapanke and Shilling have big plans for their seat in the senate, DeNure had this to say: “All I want to do is get elected to the senate,” he said. “And I’ll serve one term if I’m elected and that’s it. Then I’m going to come home, rest and relax and watch the Cubs.”