Carolyn Fath
Eileen Bruskewitz thinks protests against Trump are a “tremendous overreaction.”
Eileen Bruskewitz isn’t surprised by the massive turnout at the Women’s March on Madison. The former conservative member of the Dane County Board calls the protest “par for the course” in lefty Madison.
“There’s a mentality that it’s doomsday and our country is going to hell because Trump got elected. I think that’s a tremendous overreaction,” says Bruskewitz, who voted for the president.
“People live in their own echo chambers, and we’ve got a big one in Madison.”
Bruskewitz is stunned that Trump is vilified for being “anti-woman.” She points to Trump’s campaign manager Kellyanne Conway — the first woman to run a successful presidential campaign — as an example of the president’s support for women.
“He’s got really great women that he’s appointed to his cabinet. His companies have certainly allowed women to rise way up in the ranks. He turns to his daughter [Ivanka Trump] for advice. The idea of Trump being anti-woman is disproven by the facts” says Bruskewitz. “When I think of what Bill Clinton did in office and what [protesters] latch onto over what Trump has said, they hardly compare.”
As an elected official, Bruskewitz says she tried to bring a business perspective to many of the issues facing Dane County. She hopes Trump does the same in Washington.
“I don’t agree with him on everything, but that’s one of the reasons why I don’t think [Trump’s] going to be as bad as some people think,” says Bruskewitz.
Local rabble-rouser David Blaska — whose Twitter profile states “annoying liberals since 1949” — did not vote for Trump (or Hillary Clinton). He likens the women’s marches seen around the country to a “coping mechanism” for dealing with a new political reality.
“I think it’s fine if [the march] makes people feel empowered. Ultimately, it probably isn’t going to change anything. Maybe it tells Trump to be more presidential,” says Blaska. “Personally, I resolve to do what I can on things I can change. That ain’t November 8. Have I given you enough bullshit?”
Scott Grabins, chair of the Republican Party of Dane County, is flummoxed by the “sense that no one has ever had to deal with losing an election before.”
“As conservatives, we’ve had a president the last eight years that we felt didn’t represent our views. Yet, you didn’t see the same magnitude of protests,” says Grabins. “President Trump and the Republicans are under the gun right now.... Let’s wait to see what happens in the next 100 days and go from there.”
Organizers of the Women’s March on Madison say the demonstration was called to show “support for the community members who have been marginalized by the recent U.S. election.” But Grabins rejects that premise.
“A large number of women supported Republicans and supported Trump. There isn’t an anti-woman policy going into place,” says Grabins. “As a whole, I don’t see large groups of people that we are trying to marginalize.”
U.S. Rep Glenn Grothman (R-Glenbeulah) is looking forward to Trump “shaking things up.” He wished the president didn’t respond to “every famous screwball on Twitter” but doesn’t view Trump as a divisive leader.
“Barack Obama was always pushing the race card. He kept bringing Al Sharpton to the White House. You won’t see Trump doing that,” says Grothman. “[Trump] clearly likes everybody, and I think that’s going to come across.”
