2017 | Week of December 11 | #1233

Hey, Milwaukee, did you know your county executive, Chris Abele, is the chairman of the board of the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, an organization whose sole purpose is to get lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people elected to all levels of office, from school board to federal level?

Beyond that, Chris Abele was the primary funder for the transgender man who last month won an election to the Virginia General Assembly. According to records, Abele personally gave $190,000 to this candidate, who significantly out raised and outspent his losing opponent. Obviously, Chris Abele has an agenda, likely one many of those who voted for him didn’t know about.

This situation goes beyond Abele. I’ve recently seen several publications from LGBTQ activist organizations indicating that in 2018 these well-funded groups, presumably joined by wealthy members such as Chris Abele and Tim Gill, are targeting eight states for next fall’s elections.  Those states are Arizona, Nevada, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and yes, Wisconsin.

So what does targeting mean? Based on past experience, some as recent as last month’s elections in other states, we can expect a boatload of money to pour into Wisconsin through sympathetic Political Action Committees and independent, third-party groups who will sponsor all manner of advertising, as well as significant funds going to the candidates directly. They will know and seek to utilize every form of media efficiently and effectively.

Targeting also means those seeking to change, for example, seats in our state legislature, or to hang on to a, say, US Senate seat, will know what issues and what messages are best for certain groups. They are too smart to run these candidates, or most of them anyway, as openly gay or even openly transgendered. For the most part they don’t want their “orientation” or “identity” to be the main focus of the campaign. Their orientation and identity are the main reason they are running and the main reason for all the money they will get, but they know they are not likely to get elected if that’s the primary focus publicly.

For example, the man who ran and won as a transgender in Virginia, smartly made traffic congestion in a key part of his district his campaign focus. He talked about inclusion in vague terms; so many who voted for him didn’t know the real reason he wanted to win. And this will be true of all of those who run as LGBTQ candidates, whether they say it or not: they want to enact their agenda, especially right now an agenda that includes allowing men access to women’s restrooms, locker rooms, and changing rooms, and vice versa.

So what does this mean for Wisconsin? It means that as citizens we need to be on high alert as the campaign season begins. It means our discernment needs to be keen.  It means we need to be sure that the resources we depend on for information about candidates are reliable, that they have fully vetted all candidates.

We’ve already seen the LGBTQ activists in Wisconsin doing this candidate and election thing successfully. They have gone for local offices—school boards, city councils, county boards–all of which are elected in the spring non-partisan elections, which typically have low voter turnout and little public scrutiny. As a result, school boards across the state are adopting policies that give special rights and protections to a select group of transgender students, while putting all the other students’ well being and rights to privacy at risk. Cities are passing ordinances that purport to be about anti-discrimination and end up forcing all business owners to allow men access to the women’s restrooms and changing rooms in their businesses, for example, regardless of the owner’s religious or conscience beliefs.

Chris Abele is a great example. Few knew much if anything about his personal support for the LGBTQ agenda when he ran for county exec. That’s not what he campaigned on and he doesn’t talk a lot about it publicly, but quietly Chris is changing not only Milwaukee County but cities and even potentially states across the country.

So as we approach another election cycle, it’s safe to say, it’s truly “voter beware.” If you don’t want voter remorse, be sure you are fully informed before you cast that ballot.

For Wisconsin Family Council, I’m Julaine Appling, reminding you the prophet Hosea said, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.