The Republican Party’s platform — especially its obsession with immigration — won’t benefit Wisconsin much.
Midwestern voters should listen skeptically to Donald Trump and his party’s pitch for the presidency next week as the GOP convenes its national convention in Milwaukee.
Beware of falsehoods and distractions, especially from the party’s bombastic nominee.
In all caps, like so many of Trump’s blustery social media posts, the GOP platform’s first promise is to “SEAL THE BORDER AND STOP THE MIGRANT INVASION.” Its second commitment is to “CARRY OUT THE LARGEST DEPORTATION OPERATION IN AMERICAN HISTORY.”
Trump has long disparaged migrants with obnoxious language and false claims, suggesting without evidence that many escaped from “prisons and asylums” to “plunder, rape, slaughter” and destroy our communities. So it’s no surprise that 35% of Republican registered voters in Wisconsin cite immigration and border security as their top concern in a Marquette Law School poll last month.
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But Wisconsin is nearly 1,400 miles from the Southern border. And “planes full” of refugees are not being flown to Madison and Milwaukee, as the Juneau County Republican Party falsely claimed on its Facebook page last month.
Too many people cross the Mexican border without permission. That needs to change. But it was Trump who urged his loyalists to block a bipartisan bill in Congress that would have significantly improved border security. He didn’t want to lose the issue for his political campaign, even though prominent Republicans urged passage.
Migrants who arrive at the border often surrender to authorities. They’re not carrying drugs. Smuggling largely occurs through legal ports of entry, which the bipartisan bill would have addressed.
Undocumented immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than American citizens, UW-Madison research suggests, because they don’t want to call attention to themselves. Many are our neighbors, having escaped violence in their native countries and survived difficult treks to get here, seeking freedom and opportunity in America. We can’t blame them for that.
They’re not taking our jobs. Wisconsin needs more workers to fill open positions and contribute to our economy. Unemployment is just 2.9% here.
Former President Barack Obama actually deported more people during each of his two terms than Trump did while president, as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was fond of saying during the GOP primary. So file Trump’s unrealistic mass roundup under “broken promises,” right next to his failed talk of building a wall on Mexico’s tab.
A better pledge for the GOP next week in Milwaukee would be to dramatically increase legal immigration so people who want to come here legally have a reasonable shot to do so.
The GOP platform’s third promise is to “END INFLATION, AND MAKE AMERICA AFFORDABLE AGAIN.” Inflation peaked in the U.S. during the pandemic at 9% in 2022. But since then, it has fallen to 3%, which is lower than wage growth in Wisconsin. A little inflation is actually good for the economy. The Federal Reserve’s goal is 2%. We’re getting close to that target.
Everybody loves lower prices. But deflation typically occurs during recessions and depressions. So be careful what you wish for.
Republicans blame Democrats for spending too much money, and sometimes they have. Yet Trump handed out stimulus checks before President Joe Biden did after COVID-19 struck. And Trump ran up nearly twice as much debt as his successor. So he shares responsibility for America’s fiscal challenge.
Ultimately, consumers drive inflation. If you buy more stuff, it tends to become less available and more expensive. Economists say neither Trump nor Biden are largely to blame.
Rather than trying to fix something that’s mostly solved, the GOP should focus on balancing the federal budget and encouraging broader prosperity for all.
The GOP platform’s fourth promise is to “MAKE AMERICA THE DOMINANT ENERGY PRODUCER IN THE WORLD, BY FAR!” We already are, when it comes to crude oil. The U.S. has produced more than any nation for the past six years. And we create more energy than any country besides China, which has four times as many people.
The real goal needs to be creating more clean energy to ease climate change and save money. “DRILL, BABY, DRILL,” which the GOP platform champions, won’t cut it. Wisconsin is phasing out coal and replacing it with cleaner-burning natural gas and renewables.
The GOP platform mentions the word “abortion” only once. That’s because Trump doesn’t want to rile Wisconsin voters. During his one-term presidency, he appointed three of the Supreme Court justices who overturned the constitutional right for a woman to have an abortion. Most respondents to the Marquette poll last month favored legal abortions in all (34%) or most (32%) cases. Only 8% supported a sweeping ban.
The 2,400 delegates to next week’s convention will soon discover that Milwaukee isn’t “horrible,” as Trump reportedly said behind closed doors, according to fellow Republicans.
While they’re having fun in Cream City, Republicans should rethink their party’s platform that mirrors Trump’s worst instincts. The platform’s dark tone and bogus claims won’t make Wisconsin great.
The newest community member to join the Wisconsin State Journal editorial board introduces herself
The newest addition to the Wisconsin State Journal's editorial board introduces himself