Here & Now

Here & Now for February 14, 2020

Announcer:

A PBS Wisconsin original production. The following program is part of our “Here & Now” 2020 election coverage.

Frederica Freyberg:

I’m Frederica Freyberg. Tonight on “Here & Now,” senior political reporter Zac Schultz hits the campaign trail. He catches up with the primary candidates in the state’s 7th Congressional district. We hear from a leader in the state Hmong community about new fears over deportations. And a look ahead to research at the UW to combat the coronavirus. It’s “Here & Now” for February 14.

Announcer:

Funding for “Here & Now” is provided by the Focus Fund for Journalism and Friends of PBS Wisconsin.

Frederica Freyberg:

In our first look tonight, next Tuesday is the spring primary. Statewide, voters will choose which two Supreme Court candidates advance to the April election. Also on the ballot in northern Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional district is the primary for a special election to replace Congressman Sean Duffy, who resigned last fall. “Here & Now” reporter Zac Schultz met with all four candidates and has this report.

Jason Church:

My name is Jason Church.

Tricia Zunker:

I am Tricia Zunker.

Tom Tiffany:

Tom Tiffany.

Lawrence Dale:

I’m Lawrence Dale. I’m going to be on the ballot.

Zac Schultz:

Congressional seats don’t come open very often in Wisconsin, so it’s no surprise a special election in the 7th brought out two Republicans and two Democrats. The man with the most name recognition is Republican State Senator Tom Tiffany, whose 12th Senate District overlaps the eastern portion of the 7th Congressional.

Tom Tiffany:

Much bigger but you know, used to it. I’ve been putting 50,000 miles a year on representing the 12th Senate District, which is the second largest senate district in the state of Wisconsin so it’s just more territory to cover.

Zac Schultz:

Tiffany is campaigning on his record in Madison, advancing former Governor Scott Walker’s conservative agenda.

Tom Tiffany:

I’ve helped drain the swamp in Madison. I will do the same in Washington D.C. I have the track record to prove it. Madison did not change me in the time I was down there. Washington D.C. will not either.

Jason Church:

I always like to say I’ve never left Wisconsin voluntarily. It’s always been on orders.

Zac Schultz:

Jason Church is a veteran, also running as a Republican. He’s been working in Senator Ron Johnson’s office in Washington. The story of how they met is part of why Church is running for Congress.

Jason Church:

I was injured as a platoon leader, lost both my legs to an IED explosion. I came back and recovered at Walter Reed. In the middle of my recovery, that’s actually where I met Senator Ron Johnson.

Zac Schultz:

Church is running as an outsider and a supporter of term limits.

Jason Church:

I can bring the fight for us here in northern Wisconsin in Washington. We need a new generation of leadership to come in that comes from outside politics, who has never had an intention of it being a career.

Zac Schultz:

There really are no policy differences between Tom Tiffany and Jason Church. Tiffany has endorsements from prominent Republicans like Scott Walker and Sean Duffy. But in an era where Republican voters like anti-establishment candidates, he has to make sure those endorsements don’t make him the establishment.

Tom Tiffany:

That question gets asked and I’m so proud of the endorsements I’ve gotten from Governor Walker and Congressman Duffy because they’ve been true reformers.

Zac Schultz:

Jason Church’s endorsements come from national Republicans with military backgrounds.

Jason Church’s:

I come from outside politics and the people who’ve endorsed me, they didn’t know me from working in the legislature in ten years or trying to run for office for a decade and a half.

Tricia Zunker:

I grew up in a strong union household.

Zac Schultz:

On the Democratic side of the ballot there isn’t much of a battle over endorsements, Tricia Zunker is endorsed by the Democratic Party of Wisconsin.

Tricia Zunker:

I’m an enrolled member of Ho-Chunk Nation and I come from generations of dairy farmers on my mom’s side.

Zac Schultz:

Zunker is a justice on the Ho-Chunk Supreme Court and the president of the Wausau School Board.

Tricia Zunker:

We have real opportunity here to get representation for the people of Wisconsin seven.

Zac Schultz:

A Democrat has not won the 7th in more than a decade. In a different political era and under different maps. But Zunker says she’s reaching out to populations that have been overlooked, like Native American tribes.

Tricia Zunker:

I met with members of the Somali community in Barron County. I met with male clan leaders, male Hmong clan leaders at their annual meeting here in Marathon County recently. I did some Hispanic outreach for the community in Abbotsford. There are so many communities that have been overlooked and have said to me this is the first time a candidate has come to us.

Zac Schultz:

Lawrence Dale is also running as a Democrat and says he’s unafraid to criticize his own party leaders.

Lawrence Dale:

I’m not a zealot for any party. I’m running as a FDR Democrat. I support Bernie Sanders. And I support justice for working people generally and certainly justice for the small farmers in our district.

Zac Schultz:

Dale says his biggest concerns include the threat from mining operations and industrial farms.

Lawrence Dale:

As your Congressman, what I’m going to do is present legislation that will put a moratorium on CAFOs.

Zac Schultz:

Dale says he’s not impressed with Zunker as a candidate.

Lawrence Dale:

She talks a lot about herself. That turns me off right away. She went on and on. It just about drove me nuts. So I waited for the second half of her presentation and there was nothing of substance.

Zac Schultz:

For her part, Zunker has nothing to say about Lawrence Dale.

Tricia Zunker:

I’m not really focused on my — any opponent in the primary. I’m focused on this campaign, getting out, hearing from the voters, listening to their concerns.

Zac Schultz:

The February spring primary doesn’t usually have big races on the ballot and turnout is often quite low. Add in one of the largest districts east of the Mississippi and campaigning in winter and you have a lot of unknowns.

Tom Tiffany:

A winter campaign is a whole different animal. There’s no doubt about it.

Jason Church:

It’s a lot of ground to cover. A lot of roads to traverse. It’s eight hours round trip from where I live in Hudson to the other end and back.

Lawrence Dale:

It’s going to be difficult as it always is. Usually the candidate that outspends the other by a significant amount wins.

Tricia Zunker:

This is a 26-county district, one-third of the state of Wisconsin, and we have to just try all different things throughout the district.

Zac Schultz:

Reporting from Wausau, I’m Zac Schultz.

Frederica Freyberg:

The special primary election in the 7th Congressional district is next Tuesday, February 18. As we reported last week, for absentee voters in that district, there are two ballots for that election. One for the federal election and another for state Supreme Court and local races. This week, however, the Wisconsin Elections Commission voted unanimously to send only one ballot to most absentee voters for the April 7 presidential primary and Supreme Court general. Commissioners worried two ballots could cause chaos.

Meagan Wolfe:

For a regular voter in Wisconsin that’s not overseas, that’s not serving in the military, you will just be receiving one ballot and that ballot will contain the presidential preference election as well as the state and local contest that you will return to your clerk by election day.

Frederica Freyberg:

Again, next Tuesday voters statewide will narrow the field of candidates running for the Wisconsin Supreme Court down to two. Incumbent Justice Daniel Kelly is challenged by Marquette Law Professor Ed Fallone and Dane County Circuit Court Judge Jill Karofsky. All three have appeared on “Here & Now.” Here they are speaking about their judicial philosophy in the order of their appearances on our program.

Daniel Kelly:

Our role in that is to simply apply the law as it exists. We’re there to exercise the judicial power, to apply the law to the case in front of us. People have not asked us to legislate from the bench. They’ve got a legislature to make their laws. So we don’t make the law. We don’t ignore the law. We don’t play favorites with the law. We simply apply the law with neither fear nor favor for any person or party.

Ed Fallone:

I have stood for things like fighting for our equal protection under the law, fighting for our free speech under the law, but these are principles that are grounded in our Constitution. They’re not partisan principles. They’re the same exact principles I’ll fight for when I take the oath of office on the bench.

Jill Karofsky:

I’m the only person in this race who is or has ever been a trial court judge. I presided over more than 1700 cases last year. I see every day how the law impacts real people. I also have experience as a prosecutor. I know how to be smart on crime. I know the importance of protecting individual rights of victims, of witnesses, of defendants, of members of our community.

Frederica Freyberg:

For information on voting, head to our election resources website, WisconsinVote.org.

A policy shift in Washington leaves thousands of Hmong and Lao U.S. residents who are not citizens and have deportation orders worried they could be sent back to Laos. In tonight’s inside look, Wisconsin is home to nearly 50,000 Hmong people who first came here as refugees after fighting for the U.S. in the Vietnam War. Now the State Department wants Laos to accept deported U.S. residents. Something that hasn’t happened because of a long record of human rights violations against Hmong people by the communist country. Long Vue is executive director of the Wisconsin United Coalition of Mutual Assistance Association. He joins us from Menasha. Thanks very much for being here.

Long Vue:

Thank you.

Frederica Freyberg:

What is the reaction among Hmong people here in Wisconsin to this development that you have heard?

Long Vue:

Well, it’s a mixed message. Some are very confused why it’s happening now. Some say, well, it started a long time ago. But I guess the biggest issue, even though the immigration law passed during the Clinton Administration in 1996, well, there’s no formal agreement with Laotians to send Hmong or whoever is conviction of a crime back to Laos. And now, it’s almost 24 years now and this issue resurface again.

Frederica Freyberg:

How many people could it affect in Wisconsin, to your understanding?

Long Vue:

To my understanding, we had about 300 individuals in the state of Wisconsin. In this district, we combine here with Chicago as well, too, so pretty close to 300 individuals.

Frederica Freyberg:

Now, I understand again that this would affect people who are not U.S. citizens, but legal residents now under deportation orders. How do people get deportation orders against them?

Long Vue:

Well, they’re on the list. They’re waiting because they know they’re on the list. But the key is that they have served their time already. A lot of these individuals are moving on with their lives. They served their time already and move on their life. They have their job. They have their families in this country now.

Frederica Freyberg:

So again, the deportation order would come, for example, because someone was convicted of a crime.

Long Vue:

That’s correct.

Frederica Freyberg:

What would happen to a Hmong person deported back to Laos?

Long Vue:

Well, the Hmong, 24 years now, the Hmong being in this country 45 years now, the Hmong in general flee Laos because face prosecution because of being allies with U.S. or help or be friends with the United States. Going back there is not an option. Laos does not legally recognize Hmong as citizens of Laotian. That’s why you call Hmong. People get confused. Laos or Laotian or Hmong. Hmong is an ethnic group in Laos. So formally, Hmong is not a citizen of Laos. They will not take a non-Laotian back, as well as this individual escape Laos. Why would they want those individual back? They are the one that want to get rid of the individuals in the first place.

Frederica Freyberg:

Would it be dangerous in your mind for a Hmong person to return to Laos?

Long Vue:

It would be dangerous, those individuals on the list. They commit this crime when they were young. They have never been back to Laos. They cannot speak the Laotian language. They have no families over there. So it would be very hard for them to go back into a society that they are not welcome, because their parents were not welcome in the first place. So for them to go back is just unimaginable.

Frederica Freyberg:

What have you heard from Wisconsin’s Congressional delegation about this?

Long Vue:

What we have are Wisconsin Congressional from both the Senators and Congressional asked the governor to have written letter to the State Department asking for explanation. And one, the State Department to stop negotiating with this process. So that’s what we had so far. Just this week, we had a tremendous support from the state legislature as far as the elected officials.

Frederica Freyberg:

What is your family’s story of fleeing Laos? Unfortunately, we have but a minute left.

Long Vue:

Well, I’m — we’re lucky we were able to escape Laos early in 1975. But from my knowledge, through this fleeing the country, Hmong, thousand and thousand had died along this trail and crossing the Mekong River is not an easy task. And thousands had died. So the ones that make it to this country are the lucky ones. And now, those little one, in the ’80s, ’90s, they commit some crime, but when they were younger and serving their time, are being deported to a country they don’t even call home. So it’s a policy that definitely — why would we waste our resource sending fi — forty individuals back to a country that is not welcome for them? We could use that resource for other reasons.

Frederica Freyberg:

We need to leave it there, but of course we will be watching this. Long Vue, thank you very much.

Long Vue:

Thank you, too.

Frederica Freyberg:

Late this week, Governor Tony Evers released a letter he wrote to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo saying, in part, “The potential deportation of Hmong Wisconsinites is yet another example of your administration’s problematic disposition and policies toward refugee and immigrant populations. I urge you to reconsider and reiterate my opposition to any agreement that results in the deportation of Hmong people living in Wisconsin.”

More now on immigration policy. The U.S. Supreme Court recently lifted an injunction and allowed the Trump Administration rule regarding immigrants to soon take effect. It’s a rule that is designed to constrain legal immigration by reducing the number of people who are eligible for green cards and other visas. It’s called the “Public Charge Rule” and it determines how many public benefits an immigrant can use before their application for legal status is denied. It’s now been redefined and expanded. It’s causing a lot of uncertainty and fear for people seeking permanent legal status. For more on the implications of this rule change, we turn to William Parke Sutherland. He’s the health policy engagement coordinator at the Madison-based Kids Forward. The group is part of the Wisconsin Collaboration on Immigrants and Public Benefits. Thanks very much for being here.

William Parke Sutherland:

Thank you so much for having me.

Frederica Freyberg:

Who exactly does this expanded rule affect?

William Parke Sutherland:

I think the most important thing to realize is that the vast majority of immigrants it does not affect. The vast majority of immigrants are safe from this rule. So people with humanitarian visas, people who are refugees or asylees, people who are here sort of as a — who are victims of crimes or victims of trafficking. So all of those people are safe and are not impacted. The other important thing is that people who have their green cards already, as long as they don’t leave the U.S. for six months, they are also safe. So this does not affect citizenship.

Frederica Freyberg:

Of the people it does affect, though you say it is a small kind of slice, what kinds of public benefits fall under this new definition?

William Parke Sutherland:

Yeah. So that is also fairly narrow. I mean, people sort of think that there’s a whole scope of benefits that is included. And it’s Medicaid, so Medicaid and long-term care, so BadgerCare in Wisconsin. The — excuse me, sorry — the housing assistance, FoodShare or SNAP, and then cash assistance, so like W2. There’s a whole bunch of programs that are not impacted, like the Affordable Care Act, marketplace credit, so if you go on the healthcare.gov and get health insurance there, and then the WIC program or the Women, Infants and Children program is also, that’s not impacted.

Frederica Freyberg:

So some important programs are not impacted, but the understanding is that this is causing a lot of fear and anxiety among people in these communities. For an example of that, we want to listen to Caroline Gomez-Tom from the 16th Street Community Health Center in Milwaukee, who describes people worrying that they’ll have to pay money back that their children have received.

William Parke Sutherland:

Yeah.

Caroline Gomez-Tom:

We’ve also seen women who are pregnant that are eligible for the prenatal program, BadgerCare program that is not included in the Public Charge Rule not want prenatal services and care at our clinic as well or just at community health centers generally.

Frederica Freyberg:

So is that similar to what you’re hearing?

William Parke Sutherland:

Yeah. And we work closely with Caroline and we’ve had heard from places across the country that, you know, women are declining prenatal services or enrollment for women, infants and children, you know, that that’s going down. And both of those things are not impacted by the rule. I mean, I think that this is kind of yet another example of the Trump Administration kind of wrongly discouraging people from accessing benefits that help their families meet basic needs and so many of those benefits aren’t included and so many of those people are exempt from this Public Charge Rule.

Frederica Freyberg:

So what is your organization and others doing to kind of reach out to immigrant communities who are worried about this? We understand the worry has rippled across the country?

William Parke Sutherland:

Yeah. The chilling effect is certainly far — it’s a far worse consequence than who’s directly actually impacted by the rule. So the Collaboration on Immigrants and Public Benefits has put together easy-to-understand fact sheets about who the rule impacts, who’s safe from the rule. We have a whole list of programs that people can safely use. We have a fact sheet specifically on children and how this rule impacts them and it impacts them much less than adults. So children can safely use Medicaid programs. So children can be on BadgerCare. We are really trying to counter this fear. And the best way to counter that fear is through facts.

Frederica Freyberg:

All right. We leave it there. William Parke Sutherland, Kids Forward, thanks very much.

William Parke Sutherland:

Thank you so much.

Frederica Freyberg:

In medical news, an update on the novel coronavirus outbreak and the status of Wisconsin cases. As of today, there remains just one positive test result in the state. That person has been recovering at home. 14 other cases pending for test outcomes have come back negative. This week UW-Madison announced scientists on campus will be at the leading edge of research to understand the new virus. A sample of the novel coronavirus being used by the researchers came from the UW hospital where the Dane County patient who tested positive was seen. Thomas Friedrich is a professor at the UW School of Veterinarian Medicine and part of that research team. He joins us now. Thanks for being here.

Thomas Friedrich:

Thank you for having me.

Frederica Freyberg:

I read and see that the disease is now being called COVID-19. Why is that?

Thomas Friedrich:

So the disease needs a name. The virus needs a name. COVID-19 stands for coronavirus disease, 2019. Just a few days ago, the global research community decided that that’s the name we should call it.

Frederica Freyberg:

I thought it was much more scientific than that.

Thomas Friedrich:

I’m afraid that’s all there is to it.

Frederica Freyberg:

In your lab, what in particular are you looking to find out about this?

Thomas Friedrich:

We’d like to know why these sort of events happen. About 75% of major human infectious diseases according to one estimate, come originally from animals, like this virus is thought to do, but there are millions of viruses and parasites and bacteria infecting animals that never become major human diseases. So we like to understand when we see a new example of this how it came to be.

Frederica Freyberg:

And what is the end goal then of that research?

Thomas Friedrich:

So the end goal is to understand how viruses evolve and the pathways they need to take to get from animals to humans and then become something that can be transmitted from one human to another. They have to overcome a lot of evolutionary barriers to do that and I think that the more examples we have of pathogens that do this, the better we can define what those barriers are and how they overcome them and then we can figure out hopefully how to stop this from happening.

Frederica Freyberg:

How well-poised is UW-Madison to really crack this case for the rest of the world on this and other kind of emerging illnesses?

Thomas Friedrich:

I think it’s important to underscore that this is truly a global effort, that there are so many pieces to the puzzle that no one team is likely going to be able to crack the case for everyone. So I think we all are trying to contribute in the way that we can. One of the main things that the group I’m working with is trying to do is get researchers to be more open about the data that they are generating. So in a time like this, it’s difficult to know even the most basic things about the biology of a new virus and the decisions that are made in laboratories around the world as we start to study these viruses will affect how well and how quickly we can have answers to important questions about how the virus grows and what cells it infects and how it’s transmitted and so forth. And one of the most important things I think is that early on there may be failures in research. So we may try something in our lab and it doesn’t work. And there’s really traditionally not a good mechanism to communicate that to the outside world. Or if we find something and it does work, there’s not a good way to make that information available rapidly. So we’re trying to share our data as quickly as we get it so other groups around the world can either build on our successes or learn from our mistakes.

Frederica Freyberg:

Is it true that other researchers, scientists across the world, perhaps aren’t being as open as your team would like to see?

Thomas Friedrich:

I think that people are naturally cautious. So, research is a human enterprise and like any other human enterprise, sometimes we make mistakes. Sometimes we may jump to conclusions based on a few initial findings and those don’t pan out. And so I think people are wary, especially in a very politically charged situation where there’s a lot of concern and worry that if they interpret their first few findings incorrectly, that that may unnecessarily worry someone. Or that it may unnecessarily calm things. And so I understand the concern. But I think the need to rapidly stand up a research enterprise of this size makes it important that we are transparent.

Frederica Freyberg:

All right. We need to leave it there. Dr. Friedrich, thanks very much.

Thomas Friedrich:

1. Thank you.

Frederica Freyberg:

Now for an update on the state’s juvenile correctional institutions. Wednesday the Joint Finance Committee voted against funding for two new facilities meant to replace Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake Schools. The replacement facilities were slated for Milwaukee and the town of Hortonia near Appleton. But the Finance Committee blocked building approvals for both sites, with Republicans saying there was not enough money to fund them. Plans called for closing the troubled state-run youth prisons just north of Wausau by 2021. The party-line decision to decline $73 million for the new improved facilities has put those plans in question.

That is our program for tonight. Primary election news on next Friday night’s program. I’m Frederica Freyberg. Have a great weekend.

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For more “Here & Now” 2020 election coverage go to PBS.org and click on news. Funding for “Here & Now” is provided by the Focus Fund for Journalism and Friends of PBS Wisconsin.