LETTER: Jauch politics vengeful

To the Telegram:

The fact that not enough signatures were collected to recall Sen. Jauch doesn’t mean his constituents are pleased with his vote on the mining bill — quite the contrary.

Sen. Jauch’s response to the suspension of the recall effort against him states Wisconsin residents are “fed up with vengeful political behavior”. How very true. So even though I strongly disagree with his vote on Senate Bill 488 and I find the tactics he used to defeat the bill abhorrent, I chose not to sign Sen. Jauch’s recall papers. Recall is the ugliest political tool that can be used and many people think it’s time to quit playing tit-for-tat.

However, Sen. Jauch’s actions indicate otherwise.

Sen. Jauch’s signature on a Gov. Scott Walker’s recall petition and the fact that his wife circulated petitions reveals Sen. Jauch is not willing to heal the divisions in the state — divisions that started when he and 13 Democratic senators decided to use strong-arm tactics by leaving the state rather than following the process. He’d rather fight — more “vengeful political behavior.”

Yes, the residents of northern Wisconsin value responsible leadership. But what we’ve received from Sen. Jauch in regard to the mining bill is fear-mongering, misrepresentation of facts and statutes, partisanship, criticism of a company willing to make $1.5 billion investment in northern Wisconsin, failure to educate the public on environmental and human protections available under the current and proposed law and “vengeful political behavior.”

Responsible leadership should include opinions based on fact, not fear.

Sen. Jauch states citizens of the north “will not be conned by deceptive and poisonous rhetoric.” That includes the partisan ideology we’ve been hearing from him ever since changes to the mining law were first proposed.

Leslie Kolesar,

Saxon, Wis.

Tags: opinion, letters