Seizing on tragedy, Republicans seem determined to make things worse

BUFFALO, NEW YORK - MAY 15: People visit a makeshift memorial outside of Tops market on May 15, 2022 in Buffalo. A gunman opened fire at the store killing ten people and wounding another three. The attack was believed to be motivated by racial hatred. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)There is no shortage of godawful news to turn into fodder for this year’s political campaigns. True to form, Wisconsin Republicans are preparing for their political convention this weekend by putting out statements seeking to one-up each other in a game of Who’s the Toughest in response to the shootings last Friday night outside the Bucks stadium in Milwaukee.Seizing on the shootings of 21 people (no deaths have been reported so far) in a crowd of revelers gathered for Game 6 of the NBA playoffs, former Lt. Gov. and current gubernatorial candidate Rebecca Kleefisch rushed to the Deer District outside the Bucks arena. Referring to the area as the “fear district,” she announced that “we need Milwaukee to be a safe place for families” and promised to fire Democratic Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm and hire 1,000 new cops around the state.Not to be outdone, Kleefisch’s opponent in the Republican gubernatorial primary, construction company owner Tim Michels, declared that if elected governor he, too, will fire Chisholm, hire more prosecutors, increase penalties for felons caught with guns and build a new $350 million prison. Michels even took it a step further, laying out a campaign platform that sounds like a plan to impose martial law. He cited last year’s riot in Kenosha following the police shooting of Jacob Blake and declared he would create a special counsel to bring civil actions against anyone participating in a riot, promised to start a special prosecutors’ unit to address mob violence, and proposed targeting future protests with a quick-reaction force within the National Guard.