Michelle Litjens' & Why I'm Defending Her (Begrudgingly)

It's amazing how disconnected you become when working an 8 hour a day factory job when you don't have a smartphone or access to a computer! Liberals and those who are constantly "connected" really don't know what it's like for so many workers in Wisconsin's community industrial parks. This is a real reason why blogs like this one don't reach workers and people who need to hear Democrats message. They need to re-evaluate how they message to blue-collar workers. (More on this in a different post down the line.)

But I digress. When I got home Tuesday and started going through all of the different things I missed through the day, it seems the WI interwebs were really caught up on the news first reported by Root River Siren about State Rep. Michelle Litjens filing for divorce from her husband. Some of the comments that were written in various blogs left a very bitter taste in my mouth. It's not something I'm proud to do, but I'm going to defend Rep. Litjens from these comments.

Myself, I have said a lot of things about Rep. Litjens, and yes, several times last year referred to her (and I believe rightfully so policy wise) as #Batshitcrazy. There was a particular exchange between herself and Rep. Sandy Pasch on Up Front with Mike Gousha where I developed a distaste for her logic and standpoints when it came to abortion. That video is located here. 

But, I also remembered an earlier interview with Mike Gousha that occurred in 2011 with Rep. JoCasta Zamarria discussing the 2011 Legislative Session and their first year as a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly. This was where Rep. Litjens disclosed that her husband didn't do things for the home when she was away in Madison. The discussion starts at 7:40 of the following YouTube clip. (Embedding has been disabled, so you will have to go to YouTube)



Clearly there have been some issues in the Litjens home for a while if the Representative's husband did not do the grocery shopping or lift a finger doing the laundry while she was busy rolling back workers rights, women's rights, etc, etc, etc. I have absolutely no time nor inclination to defend Rep. Litjens' legislative record, but I will defend her for being able to stand up and clearly take the first steps at getting out of what must be an extremely difficult personal situation. That takes a lot of guts and is difficult no matter what your political stripes are. 

Divorce is the ending of something that was once forever, and has repercussions and ramifications that ripple throughout multiple families. It's not a moment for cheap partisan "Ha-Ha's" ala Nelson Muntz. It's a time to say "I'm sorry" and let them deal with it in private. Ms. Litjens, despite her extreme views and lack of comprehension of issues surrounding women in the 21st Century, clearly has some shred of progressivism in her in in filing for divorce. That should be the extent of any type of political slant put on this story. "I'm sorry for your situation and I hope it all works out for the best for your family. Please never ever consider running for public office again because your views on (X) are entirely 19th Century."

We Democrats, Progressives, and Liberals in Wisconsin need to rise up above such petty personal vendetta and have the discussion elevated to something more useful. That would be a far better legacy than getting a few brief moments of joy writing about the pain that someone else is clearly feeling. Leave that to Neo-Stalwarts who roll back more societal achievement in their next piece of legislation. "I'm sorry Rep. Litjens for your situation and I hope it works out for the best for your family."