Petty WisGOPs have a problem with a Guv who wants to help opiod addicts and clean the water

The Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee met earlier this week and approved several items that reallocated funds for items that had come up over in recent times. At the end of that meeting, State Sen. LaTonya Johnson asked about whether the Committee was going to do anything about $31 million that the state is receiving as part of a settlement with opiod manufacturers.

Here’s a look at the Evers’ Administration plan what those funds would go to, with treatment and prevention part of the work.

Sen. Johnson mentioned that the JFC had to decide whether to accept that plan this week, or to block it and/or come up with one of their own to vote on. Guess what the GOP-controlled committee chose to (not) do.

Legislature's Joint Finance Committee objects to Gov. Evers' plan for $31 million opioid settlement money https://t.co/tMoooB1lFb via @journalsentinel

— Corri Hess (@CorriHess) August 17, 2022

Committee co-chairs state Rep. Mark Born, R-Beaver Dam, and state Sen. Howard Marklein, R-Spring Green, released a statement after the committee objected to the plan. “Fighting the opioid epidemic has been a priority for Wisconsin Republicans for over a decade. We remain committed to ensuring our communities have the resources they need to help those with opioid use disorders and their families," they wrote.

“We have been working with stakeholders to ensure that we are investing in impactful programs without duplicating our efforts. We will swiftly improve the plan to promptly distribute these funds to help combat the opioid crisis that continues to ravage our state.”

Let’s not forget that the only reason Wisconsin is getting any funds from the opiod manufacturers at all is because Josh Kaul got elected Attorney General in 2018, and joined multi-state lawsuits that former GOP AG Brad Schimel refused to be part of.

So these aids only are available to Wisconsinites because a Democratic AG got involved, and the Dem Governor wants to get that assistance out to Wisconsinites, but are being blocked by Republicans on Joint Finance because….?? Well, we know why.

In addition to the fact that Republicans are corrupt are want to shield their Pharma donors from paying anything for the damage they caused, approving these funds would allow Governor Evers to be shown helping people. So GOPs want to keep that from happening in the hopes that voters can be upset enough to want to throw out the Governor in November.

Don’t believe me? Look at how pissy GOP JFC member Duey Stroebel got when the Governor announced that he was using $10 million in stimulus funds to clean up drinking water in Wisconsin.

That’s not your investment, it’s the taxpayers investment. You forget where your largess came from. @GovEvers https://t.co/LN8xO2dlYE

— Duey Stroebel (@SenStroebel) August 18, 2022

So in WisGOP World, Gov Evers shouldn’t use funds that have already been sent to this office to stabilize and improve things to clean up drinking water? Cleaning up water is as basic a governmental function as it gets, because it keeps individuals from paying big money to remedy contamination that many of them didn’t have anything to do with.

This garbage only continues until Republicans pay a price for playing these games over doing anything for everyday Wisconsinites. These lowlifes are still power-drunk, and feel their gerrymander insulates them from being accountable to the voters that pay their salaries (salaries that continue despite the Legislature’s 10-month vacation for actual legislating).

And the WisGOP legislators that aren’t on Joint Finance are as guilty as the ones that “serve” on it, because they aren’t doing anything to tell their colleagues to break the logjam, step up, and help the Wisconsinites who are in need. Don’t let them slink away, and ALL should be considered bad, no matter how “independent” they claim to be.