Dylan Brogan
U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson tells Republicans that he won a second term thanks, in part, to 80,000 voters from Dane County.
Dane County’s conservative faithful have already recited the Pledge of Allegiance and stood tall for the national anthem at Monona Terrace. But before they dig into their salads for the annual Lincoln Reagan Day Dinner, the Republicans remain standing for the invocation delivered by the Very Rev. Richard Heilman, a Dane County Catholic priest and blogger.
After breaking the ice with a joke about Lambeau Field being the Holy Land, Heilman reminds guests that this year’s Lent started with 17 deaths in a school shooting in Parkland, Florida.
“That day something happened. One, possibly four, [police officers] stood outside while they heard shots being fired knowing with each shot, a life was being taken,” Heilman tells the crowd of 200 Republicans at the March 10 event. “This is a watershed time in history. We need people to rise up.”
Heilman has their attention now. But what follows is not a lecture on how even good guys with guns can’t necessarily stop the bad guys with legally purchased assault rifles. Heilman has different morals in mind.
“No. It is not health care to kill babies,” Heilman says. “No. Grown men should not be allowed to enter the bathrooms of our little girls. While we hid behind our proverbial cars and our proverbial parking lot, we need to say, ‘I’m going in.’”
Heilman ends his prayer by donning a black baseball cap that reads “Make America Holy Again.” Although this event is named after two of the country’s famous Republicans, Heilman’s hat is a reminder of who runs the party now.
Republicans control all of state government, a majority of the state’s congressional delegation, one of two U.S. Senate seats, and have five reliable votes on the state Supreme Court. In 2016, Donald Trump became the first Republican to win the state’s vote for president since 1984.
But in Dane County, the Grand Old Party is in the minority. Hillary Clinton won with 70 percent of the vote here and local politics are dominated by the left. However, that remaining 30 percent is still a powerful voting bloc. Only two other counties — Milwaukee and Waukesha — turned out more Republican voters than Dane in the last presidential election.
U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, the first speaker at the fundraiser, notes that 80,000 votes from Dane County helped give him a second term in 2016, a surprise to even him on election night.
“I realize, Dane County, you’re not going to win the county. Not yet,” Johnson tells the audience. “But boy can you turn out votes. And every vote we mine out of Dane County will help our [2018 U.S.] Senate candidate.”
State Supreme Court candidate Judge Michael Screnock, the conservative pick for justice in the upcoming nonpartisan April 3 election, is an unannounced guest at the dinner. He proudly touts his endorsements from anti-abortion groups and the National Rifle Association, and blasts his opponent, Judge Rebecca Dallet, for “running on a liberal, activist agenda.”
“All these individuals and groups that are endorsing me understand that our highest court deserves impartial justices, not partisan activists,” says Screnock, who was appointed to the circuit court bench in Sauk County by Gov. Scott Walker in 2015. Before that he worked for the law firm that defended Walker’s union-busting Act 10.
Attorney General Brad Schimel, who just launched his re-election campaign, also makes an appearance, addressing what Walker has described as a “wakeup call” for Republicans: the surprise win of Democrat Patty Schachtner in the special election for a state Senate seat on Jan. 16.
“Right now, the perception is that we’ve dropped the ball,” says Schimel. “The best thing we can do to make sure that momentum changes, is on April 3 to not squeak Michael Screnock across the finish line. We need to bring him across in a big, glorious victory.”
And Screnock won’t be able to do it without Republicans from liberal Dane County.
Lincoln Reagan Day Dinner facts:
First Lincoln Day dinner held in 1867 by the Middlesex Club in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Table accoutrements: Shiny pennies to honor the Great Emancipator; Jelly beans for the Gipper.
Notable attendees at the 2018 Lincoln Reagan Day Dinner:
Former Supreme Court Justice David Prosser.
Former U.S. Senate candidate and Madison real estate developer Eric Hovde (who isn’t ruling out a run for U.S. Senate this year and spoke at the event).
Conservative talk radio hosts Vicki McKenna and Mitch Henck.
Notable Wisconsin Republicans from history:
Former Gov. and U.S. Sen. Robert “Fightin’ Bob” La Follette: Republican bosses thought he was too progressive for the GOP way back in 1881 when he ran for Dane County district attorney.
Former U.S. Sen. Joe McCarthy: A whole -ism was coined after him.
Former U.S. Sen. Bob Kasten: Ended Earth Day founder Gaylord Nelson’s 18-year tenure in the Senate.
Former Gov. Tommy Thompson: Won 71 of Wisconsin’s 72 counties in 1994. He was 21 votes short in Menominee County. (Maybe name the annual dinner after him instead of two guys from Illinois?)
Editor's Note: A previous version of this story incorrectly identified Bob Kasten as a former U.S. Senator and governor. Though he did run for governor in 1978, he didn't win. The article has been corrected to reflect this.