Wisconsin Republicans Demonstrate How to Rebut False Charges of Racism

“What’s the modern definition of a racist?” 

                                      - the old joke goes. 

                “Someone who’s winning an argument with a liberal.”

A Wisconsin Senator, Congressman, and State Senator showed that this was no laughing matter over the past week, as all three became targets of the political left’s unquenchable desire for the personal and professional ruin of its enemies. Allegations of racism, sadly, have become just the latest, most effective bludgeon.

On Thursday, Congressman Glenn Grothman made a floor speech opposed to what he called a “marriage penalty” tucked into Democrats’ COVID-19 relief bill

“I bring it up because I know the strength that Black Lives Matter had in this last election,” Grothman said. “I know it’s a group that doesn’t like the old-fashioned family. I’m disturbed that we have another program here in which we’re increasing the marriage penalty.”

That night, Plaskett told MSNBC’s Joy Reid that during committee meetings and while Grothman is in his congressional district in Wisconsin, he has used racist phrases such as “welfare mamas” to refer to black women who receive public assistance.

“Do you want to share with us what does this guy say in your committee meetings?” Reid asked.

“Oh, well, you know, umm, if you just look up Glenn Grothman, he has a history of making remarks about, you know, welfare mamas and, uhhh, just very racist, racist remarks throughout his time when he was even in the State Legislature in Wisconsin and, of course, in the committee,” Plaskett answered.

As if her halting, unsure answer wasn’t immediately a dead giveaway that she was lying, a Google search of “Glenn Grothman” and “welfare mamas” the next morning yielded just one result: A transcript of the MSNBC show on which Plaskett made her baseless allegation.

In other words, she was lying. It didn’t matter much, though. News outlets both national and local printed Plaskett’s grave accusation but dropped the story the second it could be demonstrably disproven.

They had already moved on to allegations of racism against Senator Ron Johnson.

In an interview with “The Joe Pags Show,” Johnson explained that he never really felt threatened during the January 6th riot at the U.S. Capitol.

“Braying about ‘peaceful protests’ offers no comfort to those victims or the other innocent Americans whose homes, businesses and property were destroyed. The same people fail to see the damage they do by pushing a narrative designed to portray the 74 million Americans who voted for Mr. Trump as potential domestic terrorists or armed insurrectionists.”

Just a few days later, Wisconsin State Senator Julian Bradley introduced a bill compelling the state’s prison inmates to use all or some of their $1,400 COVID relief checks on victim restitution if applicable.

These three hysterical outbursts are emblematic of the deep-seated problem with the left’s wild and weaponized allegations of racism.  Without a shred of evidence to support them, careers may be ended and lives may be ruined…if conservatives accept the premise, that is.

In each of these three instances, Wisconsin Republicans demonstrated the proper response to false racism allegations—to immediately and forcefully respond and to refuse to accept the premise that a racially neutral statement is at all racist in nature.

Groveling before such obviously weaponized charges only serves to embolden a political movement that seems incapable of lodging any other attack against its enemies.

Congressman Grothman, Senator Johnson, and State Senator Bradley modeled the best possible response: A factual, powerful rebuttal that exposes those making such spurious charges for the joke that they are.