Elections
Former Democratic US House member Ron Kind joins Republicans for election security town hall Thursday in La Crosse
With voting already started and the fall election nearing a close, former members of Congress on both sides of the aisle come together Thursday night to discuss election security, and take questions from those who want to know more.
Former Democratic US House Rep. Ron Kind of Wisconsin’s 3rd District joins three Republicans to take part in the town hall from 7-9 p.m. at the Pump House Regional Arts Center in downtown La Crosse. It’s free and open to the public — register here.
Kind said Tuesday on WIZM’s La Crosse Talk that he feels an event like this is now needed, because of the constant barrage of misinformation out there trying to sow doubt into US elections.
“If you lose the confidence at the ballot box, that’s when people resort to self help and other means of trying to achieve political power in our country, and that’s something that we’re trying to avoid,” Kind said.
Also taking part in the event are former Republican colleagues of Kind’s in the US House, including Scott Klug, Tim Petri and Reid Ribble. La Crosse County clerk Ginny Dankmeyer will also be on hand, as she’s in charge of elections in the county.
“ Our message is to generate a discussion about the common concerns related to election security and election integrity in Wisconsin and throughout the country,” Kind said. “And to try to reassure people — for those of us who were on the ballot, who ran campaigns, who watched us very closely — that we have nothing to be worried about in regards to the fairness, the accuracy, the vote counting in Wisconsin. We have extremely professional election officials.”
LeaderEthics-Wisconsin executive director Lee Rasch helps host the event. Rasch spoke Wednesday on WIZM, talking about what one might expect from the town hall, plus the Q&A afterward.
“ Probably take some of the misinformation that’s out there and try to explain how it’s really operating,” Rasch said. “But I think you’ll also get some insight from their personal views — the members of Congress. I’ve heard Reed Ribble speak, for example, on these topics, and he shares his stories, when he was in Congress, and about how some members can believe that a piece of truth is equivalent to all the truth.”
Kind sees the town hall as a way to show those who still might question the 2020 election, or this upcoming one, that is not the case, and to answer their questions.
“ There’s a substantial portion of people who still feel that election fraud is a major issue in our country today, and it just isn’t,” Kind said. “And so I’m happy to do this forum, along with Republican colleagues, who are speaking very forcefully and pushing back against what former President Trump has been saying out there.”
Lee noted that it wasn’t that long ago, that things like Republicans and Democrats getting together for a town hall was pretty normal.
“ I’ve heard Reed Ribble and Ron Kind refer to each other as friends,” Rasch said. “And see, one of the things that I think we forget, because of the divide today, is that there was a lot more interaction between the parties, but with members in Congress or even in the state legislature. And today those kinds of interactions are almost verboten.”
Kevin
October 3, 2024 at 6:43 am
We don’t believe, I don’t believe you.
Everything this state has done to elections with the hypothetically safe absentee ballot boxes, everything this country/state has done to encourage illegal immigration, everything the different states do when issuing drivers licenses to illegal immigrants, everything this country does to prevent voter id, all of it leads to suspicion and doubting results.
Everything the judicial branch has done to avoid investigating the ballots when in question, all of it leads to suspicion and doubting results.
Investigate the ballots, investigate the signatures, go back to voting in person, unless and only if there is a service, work or mobility exception.
Quit giving away driver’s licenses to illegals, quit using the motor voter registration tool, quit sending democrat leaning operatives to nursing homes to hold ‘voting seminars’, you have got to be bull shitting us, quit sending ballots through the mail to ‘occupant’, our elections are secure.
Having Ron Kind stand up there and say, Trust Me – our elections are safe doesn’t mean anything to me or anyone that doubts the integrity of our elections.
Donald Trump didn’t have standing to bring suit in the election, he was a candidate, running for office, how much more standing does someone need? 50% of the voters say we don’t trust the elections, and all you moronic officials can do is say, Trust Us, they are safe and secure.
We have a boat load of officials telling us that the border is secure as well, doesn’t take a genius or anyone with an IQ over 70 to tell you that our border is a sieve.
Take your ‘trust me’…..you got to be kidding me!
Come On Man
October 3, 2024 at 8:55 am
Well done!
I think Kevin hit the nail on the head.
Why is it so hard to vote in person? You don’t vote every day, so every 4 years is too much for you?
When the election process had integrity, people in the military who were deployed or people who had a legitimate reason were given absentee ballots. Now if you think it is inconvenient for you, get an absentee ballot. (Crazy!) Early voting is also BS.
First the Democrats don’t want voter ID and now they want to give a driver license to anyone, no questions asked.
Don’t like the crowds, stay home and don’t complain when your candidate loses.
If you can’t get off butt because it’s too inconvenient, don’t vote.
Our society has forgotten what hard work and sacrifice is about. Working or retired, don’t you think that the few minutes that you stand in line to cast your vote is worth it?
Computers and cell phone have made everyday life more convenient. Maybe you need to be reminded of the good old days before the electronic age that some things in life require a little effort and inconvenience.
Libertarian Guy
October 3, 2024 at 11:23 am
Ditto to above from kevin and come on man.
Ron kind has been a long time member of the swamp. Four years after leaving Congress he still shows his swampy colors. He offers empty reassurance. That is, “there is nothing to worry about” and “Fraud? It just isn’t so.” Nothing to see here. We are supposed to believe him because he says so. I believe he told us our health insurance premiums would go down When he pushed through Obamacare. Instead, it ignited a new round of premium inflation due to cost shifting and other adverse consequences of subsidized healthcare and the unaddressed, problem of Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement rates substantially below market rates. But that’s a topic for another day.
Ron Kind and the RINOs at tonight‘s reassurance session appear likely to offer only platitudes. Believe us because we say so. They are not interested in eliminating ballot boxes, going back to election day instead of election season, or the ridiculous early voting, which simply leads to voting before all available information is known about each candidate. mailing ballots to deceased people. Mailing balance to people who have not requested them. I bet they do not mention anything about the clear election interference that went on within the media and the out and out lies told by candidates. What am I referring to? How about the Hunter Biden laptop disinformation? How about the Russian hoax? How about the Steele dossier? How about the bias in the media And they’re complete loss of credibility. How about one sided fact, checking during debates? How about the weaponization of the department of Justice. How about the election interference going on right now with the latest Jack Smith effort to interfere with the election yet again. How about the exclusion of third-party candidates from debates? These are the things Ron Kid needs to address. But as a member of the swamp, he will not do so.
walden
October 3, 2024 at 1:58 pm
I agree with the comments above. The dog and pony show topic is “election security” which is a conveniently narrow topic carving out the hi-jinx the Dems have perpetrated, to wit:
Suing Trump in multiple Dem jurisdictions on ridiculous charges.
Suing Trump to keep him off the ballot.
Suing Kennedy to keep him off the ballot.
Then suing Kennedy, after he withdrew from the race, to keep him ON the ballot with the belief he would dilute support for Trump.
Suing Jill Stein to keep her OFF the ballot preventing her from diluting support for Harris.
Sen Jamie Raskin threatens that a Dem Senate will refuse to accept any victory by Trump.
Biased media, including WIZM’s daily vomit of The Democratic Voice.
This is just a sampling, all this…before we even get to the ballot box.
Mike Hayes’ last People Poll was “do you know when politicians are trolling you.” The answer is yes.