Sussex Residents tell Sensenbrenner It's Time for Civility to Return to Politics

Residents of the 5^th Congressional District are telling U.S. Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner, R-Menomonee Falls, it’s time for civility to come back to politics.

“We need some civility,” resident George Semrad said. “We need people to solve these problems and when I hear about what’s going to get cut, I think we need someone who’s going to stand up for us.”

Sensenbrenner and state Rep. Don Pridemore, R-Hartford, came to Wednesday afternoon to hold a public listening session with residents. About 10 people were in attendance.

Questions from residents focused mainly on federal health care issues and debt, however, several said civility has completely gone away in the current political environment.

Semrad said his son recently met U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Oshkosh, and when he asked him what to ask the senator, Semrad said he said to tell him the need for civility to come back to politics.

“You tell Ron we need mature, professional representatives that are willing to do something about the $1.5 trillion deficit and not just blame it on each other,” Semrad said. “You can tell him that his father and his mother are really disappointed what our generation of leaders are leaving behind for his generation and future generations.”

Les Bruskiewicz, who travelled to Sussex from Town of Waukesha, said he went to the recent tea party rally in Madison and said the vile language he heard and behavior of the people surrounding the rally was discomforting.

“In the three years of attending these I’ve never realized this level of discomfort standing in the crowd than when they started surrounding the crowd,” he said. “I have to say that civility has gone out the window.”

Sensnebrenner mentioned a recent listening session in Wauwatosa where state Sen. Leah Vukmir, R-Wauwatosa, was shouted down by opponents of Gov. Scott Walker’s changes to effectively eliminate collective bargaining rights for public employees. Sensenbrenner said he ended the meeting early when the overcrowded and hot Wauwatosa Public Library had more people than allowed by the fire code.

He and Pridemore said the negative political climate is being pushed by Democrats and their supporters.

“I’ve spent a fair amount of time in Madison and other areas of the state,” Pridemore said. “The lack of civility is coming from the other side of the aisle.”

Sensnbrenner also targeted critics of U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan’s, R-Janesville, plans to overhaul federal entitlement programs such as Medicare, saying attacks on the plan have been misleading or “outright lies.”

He said the need to overturn President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul legislation is very important to moving forward and he said it influenced his decision to avoid a government shutdown, which harmed Republicans politically in 1996.

“There are some similarities and there are some differences, but frankly it wasn’t a risk I was willing to run,” Sensenbrenner said. “If you want to get a president elected who will sign a repeal of Obamacare then Republicans can’t throw the opportunity away to allow one to be elected.”

Sensenbrenner said a solid Republican presidential candidate should emerge by the end of the year. However, he’s not too keen on businessman Donald Trump’s merits as a candidate.

“Why does a dog bark? I think to draw attention to itself,” Sensenbrenner said. “I got two dogs and when one starts barking the other one does too, sort of like an a cappella choir.”