Empower Wisconsin | Nov. 21, 2020

MADISON — Wisconsin Elections Commission member Mark Thomsen rabidly hates President Donald Trump. And yet the Democrat-appointed commissioner is allowed to vote on WEC guidelines that impact Trump’s recount in liberal bastions Dane and Milwaukee counties.

That’s the state of Wisconsin’s troubled elections regulator today.

The three Democrats on the six-member commission clearly don’t buy the Trump campaign’s allegations of illegal election activity in the counties, so they “don’t have to give any credence to Trump,” as Thomsen said.

They do have to give deference to the process and the laws. But the commission’s Dems don’t really care about that. What they care about is getting their party’s Public Enemy No. 1 out of the White House as quickly as possible.

They like to think they stand for free and fair elections. But their defense ends as soon as their political enemies raise real concerns about voter irregularities, obstruction of poll observers and illegal guidance provided by local clerks, as well as the Elections Commission.

To that end, the Democrat appointees last week, during a long, heated meeting, wanted to quickly approve an array of last-minute changes to the commission’s recount manual that Republicans fear would water down the Trump campaign’s allegations. WEC Chairwoman Ann Jacobs, sighed so much at every Republican commissioner objection that she should have had a paper bag near by to stave off hyperventilating.

The Democrats just couldn’t see how these deplorables, their Republican colleagues on the commission, could be so stupid and defend the rights of the recount petitioner — Donald Trump.

Commissioner Dean Knudson, a Republican, called therm out.

“We as a commission need to stand up for the process,” Knudson said. He was referring to the need to make sure the leftists who run elections in Dane and Milwaukee counties don’t use the cover of COVID-19 and social distancing to block recount observers and campaign representatives. (They did exactly that over the first weekend of the recount, according to multiple observers.)

Knudson said something that is just as true — and even more concerning.

“I didn’t just fall off the truck. I know what’s going on here. The (Trump) petition calls for a recount of the two counties controlled by one party and that party has tried to change every (election) law there is,” the commissioner said.

Democrats argue for fair elections, but fight against voter integrity. Their representatives on the Wisconsin Elections Commission are their tools.

Together they are Empower Wisconsin’s Tool of the Week.

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