Here & Now

Here & Now for October 16, 2020

Announcer:

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

Frederica Freyberg:

The politics of the pandemic continued this week with a letter. Governor Tony Evers challenged Republican leadership to share plans to combat COVID-19. He also pleaded to Wisconsinites to step up safe practices in the fight against the coronavirus.

Tony Evers:

I don’t know how anyone in the state of Wisconsin can feel comfortable about saying, “what the hell, I don’t care about preventing deaths.”

Frederica Freyberg:

The Tavern League of Wisconsin met the governor’s challenge with a lawsuit. A Sawyer County judge temporarily blocked Evers’ order for a 25% capacity limit inside establishments. All this as the West Allis Alternate Care Center opened to patients from overcrowded hospitals around the state. Another record high week of cases with no end in sight.

I’m Frederica Freyberg. Tonight on “Here & Now,” Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke no doubt read the governor’s letter. He’ll tell us what he thinks in just a moment. Then, to knock or not to knock? COVID on the campaign trail. Zac Schultz shows us how Democratic and Republican candidates differ when it comes to meeting the voter. Brown County is blowing up with new COVID cases. We’ll talk with a Green Bay emergency room doctor about what he’s seeing. It’s “Here & Now” for October 16.

Announcer:

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

Frederica Freyberg:

The surge in COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths in Wisconsin reach frightening new heights, closing in on daily case counts near 4,000 this week. Meanwhile, dueling court rulings over COVID response in Wisconsin. This week, separate judges both upheld the mask mandate and blocked limits on crowds in establishments. This coming Monday, the state health secretary is expected to appear before the judge in the Sawyer County case to defend the state order to place a 25% capacity limit at places like restaurants and bars, an order the Tavern League of Wisconsin calls a de facto closure. The temporary block of the state’s order prompted swift reaction from Governor Tony Evers.

Tony Evers:

Just because some folks out there want to see full bars and full hospitals doesn’t mean we have to listen. The longer it takes for folks to take this virus seriously, the longer it will take to get our economy and our communities back on track. We want to get back to enjoying our favorite bars and restaurants, public events and some sense of normal, then we need you to stay home.

Frederica Freyberg:

The politics of the pandemic surge on. What’s the Republican plan for public safety and economic security with rising COVID rates? Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke joins us now from Kaukauna and thanks for being here again.

Jim Steineke:

Absolutely, thanks for having me.

Frederica Freyberg:

As you know, the Fox Valley is a hot spot for COVID-19. People are dying and cases and hospitalizations are going up, as in the rest of the state, and patients from your area are expected now to be transferred to this overflow field hospital. What are you doing about it?

Jim Steineke:

Well, the biggest thing I think we all have a responsibility to do is to continue to educate the public as to what the issues are. Believe it or not, there’s still people out there that don’t think that this is a very serious virus. We have to make it clear to them that it is. And then continue to push social distancing, following the CDC guidelines, washing hands regularly and, most importantly, staying home when you’re sick. People have to take some responsibility for themselves, and we have to continue with that unified message.

Frederica Freyberg:

A circuit court judge this week refused to block the state mask mandate saying, “if the legislature is unconvinced that a state of emergency does exist, which gives the governor the ability time pose those rules, the legislature has the ultimate power to terminate it.” So do you think Wisconsin is in a state of emergency over COVID-19 or should be so declared?

Jim Steineke:

I think obviously, the virus presents some serious challenges for people around the state. Every part of the state is a little bit different. That’s why we favored a more local approach, because when you look at what the governor has done so far with like the statewide mask mandate, without working with law enforcement throughout the state before putting in that into place, what you saw was law enforcement the day that Governor Evers announced this coming out and saying that they weren’t going to enforce it. So that’s the problem with some of these heavy-handed state-wide mandates where the governor isn’t working with anybody on how to enforce it. If it’s not enforceable, it’s only worth the paper that it’s printed on.

Frederica Freyberg:

So will Republican leadership go into session and terminate the state of emergency?

Jim Steineke:

No. I mean, we’re focused on just making sure that the rule of law is upheld and making sure that at the end of the day, that the governor is following the law. That’s the most important thing to us. I encourage people all the time to wear masks. If you’re going outside, going into places, into stores where you’re going to come in close contact with people, people should be wearing masks. They should be washing their hands. And they should be social distancing. That’s what we believe. We’re just — as far as the mask mandate, we’re just asking the governor to follow the law.

Frederica Freyberg:

Now, Governor Evers wrote your leadership a scathing letter this week asking to meet with you to see your plan to respond to the pandemic and work with you. Has leadership scheduled that meeting?

Jim Steineke:

Not that I’m aware of. I mean, the governor also this week said that he didn’t see any reason to meet. He said that himself, he knew where he was at. He felt like he knew where Republicans were at, so he didn’t see the need for a meeting. That’s what’s been so frustrating throughout this whole process is neither side is talking to each other and the governor is coming out with these edicts and these emergency declarations without ever having consulted or talked to the legislature ahead of time. Maybe if he brought people together around a table and stopped throwing political — hurling political insults at the other side of the table, we’d be able to work together in a more congenial fashion.

Frederica Freyberg:

So you’re telling me that the governor told Republican legislative leadership this week that he did not want to meet with you to see your plan?

Jim Steineke:

No. What I’m saying is he said publicly that he doesn’t see the need for a meeting given the fact that he knows where he is and he knows where we are and he just doesn’t feel like there’s a way to come together. And it’s frustrating for us.

Frederica Freyberg:

He did state in his letter that he wanted to see your plan. Do you have a plan?

Jim Steineke:

Again, this goes back to the fact that we believe that social — that people should be social distancing, they should be washing their hands. But local health departments have all the tools that Governor Evers supposedly believes he has in to order to put these mask mandates if they see fit in order to do capacity restrictions at the local level. That’s where this thing needs to be fought because those leaders will work with their local law enforcement to make sure if you put something in place that it’s enforceable. That’s what the governor has failed to do over and over again is work with people ahead of time before putting out his plans to make sure that whatever he does is enforceable. What he has done so far is not enforceable. If you can point to one individual in the state that has been written a ticket for not wearing a mask, I’d be interested in seeing it because I don’t believe it exists.

Frederica Freyberg:

All eyes are on Wisconsin because of its record COVID cases, as you well know, and the president is coming here tomorrow, to Janesville, for a rally. Should the president come?

Jim Steineke:

I think the president should come, just like, you know, Joe Biden has visited the state, Kamala Harris and others have come to Wisconsin. I think people, if they go to see the president, should be responsible, should socially distance and wear masks when they’re in close contact with people. We have to do our best to keep people safe.

Frederica Freyberg:

All right. Much more to ask you, but we are at time’s limit. So Representative Steineke, thanks for joining us.

Jim Steineke:

Absolutely, thanks for having me.

Frederica Freyberg:

And why would the legislature return to session to vote down the emergency order? Today, the Wisconsin Supreme Court took receipt of a petition for original action filed on behalf of a Waukesha resident who’s asking the high court to disallow Governor Evers from enacting back-to-back emergency orders, like the one mandating masks, which a lower court upheld. The court is giving Evers until next Thursday to file a response.

Now to COVID-19 and the impact the disease has on how candidates interact with voters. “Here & Now” Senior Political Reporter Zac Schultz has been spending a lot of time on the campaign trail. He found there are distinct differences between the way a Republican and a Democrat campaign.

Dan Kapanke:

How you doing, sir?

Man:

Good. How are you?

Dan Kapanke:

Good. My name’s Dan Kapanke.

Zac Schultz:

All around Wisconsin.

Pat Testin:

Hi there. Just want to stop by and say hi. I’m Pat Testin, your state senator.

Zac Schultz:

Republicans candidates for office are out in the field knocking doors, trying to make an impression on voters.

Bonnie Lee:

I’m Bonnie Lee. I’m running for state Assembly in this district.

Zac Schultz:

The history of campaigning in Wisconsin says this is how you win elections, something first-time candidate Bonnie Lee says was made clear to her by the Republican Party.

Bonnie Lee:

You got to knock a lot of doors. And I can attest to that.

Zac Schultz:

Democrats are taking a different approach.

Woman on phone:

Hello?

Patty Schachtner:

Hi. Is this Charlene?

Paul Piotrowski:

Hi, Tim. It’s Paul Piotrowski calling to invite you to a Zoom meeting.

Zac Schultz:

Democrats have swapped out shoe leather for technology, saying the COVID-19 pandemic means it’s not safe to campaign in person.

Paul Piotrowski:

There’s a lot more focus on making calls.

Zac Schultz:

Democrat Paul Piotrowski laments most of the events that let candidates meet voters face-to-face were cancelled.

Paul Piotrowski:

The dairy breakfast, the parades, very few if any of those are occurring.

Zac Schultz:

Republicans like Dan Kapanke says that makes doors even more important.

Dan Kapanke:

All these festivals are gone. So we have to work harder at the doors, harder to get our self in front of people with our message.

Zac Schultz:

Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos says it is possible to knock doors safely in a pandemic.

Robin Vos:

The vast majority of people, if you socially distance, that meets the criteria of what they want. So people are still answering their door. They still want to get to know people.

Pat Testin:

When I’m going door to door, I carry a mask on me, so that way if someone answers and they want me to mask up, I certainly will.

Zac Schultz:

Republican Pat Testin says they stopped doing doors in the spring but started them up again in June when Wisconsin’s COVID outbreak temporarily slowed down.

Pat Testin:

We’ve had some folks who answer the door and they’re just — they’re not comfortable talking to someone and I completely respect that.

Dan Kapanke:

I’ve had several people that were upset that I was there without a mask, but I was outside and I was keeping — trying to keep my distance.

Zac Schultz:

Democrats say going door to door is more likely to alienate voters.

Paul Piotrowski:

They do not want to see candidates or volunteers coming to their door.

Robyn Vining:

We are protecting people and not spending time out knocking doors.

Zac Schultz:

Democratic Robyn Vining says her work at the doors in 2008 led to her upset win in this suburban Milwaukee seat. But she says her methods had to change.

Robyn Vining:

Our method has to honor our message. And so I can’t look at you and say human life matters and then risk it.

Zac Schultz:

So what do Democrats think about their Republican opponents knocking doors in their districts?

Robyn Vining:

That’s their choice.

Patty Schachtner:

There you go.

Zac Schultz:

But where does that leave Democrats when it comes to reaching voters?

Patty Schachtner:

Hi, Tim. This is Senator Patty Schachtner calling.

Zac Schultz:

Democrat Patty Schachtner says in her rural district that leaves only one option.

Patty Schachtner:

Calls and calls and it’s you know, hundreds and hundreds of calls.

Zac Schultz:

Republican Robin Vos thinks Democrats are missing out.

Robin Vos:

Democrats can choose to campaign how they want to. I think being a telemarketer, which is what an awful lot of candidates are doing where they’re just trying to call people on the phone, that’s just a different interaction than looking somebody in the eye and asking them a question.

Zac Schultz:

The ultimate goal of doors or any outreach is to persuade and turn out voters.

Ben Wikler:

Most doors, people aren’t home or don’t answer. Most phone calls don’t get picked up.

Zac Schultz:

Ben Wikler is chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. They’re testing if there’s a different and safer way.

Ben Wikler:

The most important thing in an election is authentic conversations. Conversations can happen at doors. They can happen on the phone.

Peter Klitzke:

Hello. My name is Peter Klitzke.

Zac Schultz:

That’s where Peter and Carol Klitzke come in.

Peter Klitzke:

Thanks for taking my call.

Zac Schultz:

Peter is a field organizer for the Democratic Party of Wisconsin in the La Crosse area.

Peter Klitzke:

Welcome to my life for hours on end.

Zac Schultz:

His wife Carol is a volunteer team leader.

Carol Klitzke:

I really think Pete and I have always felt like we could make a difference.

Peter Klitzke:

That’s true.

Carol Klitzke:

Without being even really idealistic about it.

Hello. Is this Francis?

Zac Schultz:

They’ve made thousands of calls to voters in western Wisconsin over the past few months.

Carol Klitzke:

Not a Democrat.

Zac Schultz:

Looking to change a few minds and add votes to the Democratic ticket.

Carol Klitzke:

What would it take for Joe Biden to sway you over to vote for him?

Zac Schultz:

Ben Wikler says it’s not the amount of phone calls that matter, but the quality.

Ben Wikler:

What we look at most of all is how long are people talking, what do they report about what happens on those calls, is this a kind of perfunctory reminder or is this actually an in-depth engagement that will stick with someone?

Zac Schultz:

In 2016 Peter worked as a poll worker, registering voters on Election Day. He saw a long line of white men who hadn’t voted since before President Obama.

Peter Klitzke:

They acted angry and they had a chip on their shoulder. I was pretty sure they were voting for Trump.

Zac Schultz:

Donald Trump won western Wisconsin on his way to a narrow state-wide victory. Peter and Carol have been working to reverse that trend ever since.

Carol Klitzke:

We have to do something different to make it more fun.

Zac Schultz:

Initially, Peter and Carol thought they could change minds one door at a time.

Carol Klitzke:

That’s the beauty of canvassing, is when we canvass, especially since we live here, then we are the face. We are the face of Democrats.

Zac Schultz:

Back in March, they hosted an event called “Phones on Tap,” where volunteers could drink local microbrews and make calls to recruit more volunteers to then knock doors.

Carol Klitzke:

Ed, would you like to try some Java Lava?

Zac Schultz:

The COVID-19 pandemic shut them down less than a week later. Since then, it’s been Zoom meetings and phone calls. Carol says some calls are rough, but sometimes she makes a connection.

Carol Klitzke:

One of those aha moments where you’re like, yes, this is why I’m doing this.

Zac Schultz:

Everything that’s playing out at the state level mirrors what’s happening with the presidential campaigns.

Mike Pence:

It is great to be back in the Badger State.

Zac Schultz:

While Mike Pence visited Wisconsin Tuesday.

Mike Pence:

Three weeks from today on the road to victory goes right through Wisconsin.

Zac Schultz:

The Biden campaign has kept their rallies virtual.

LaTonya Johnson:

Thank you so much for joining us tonight.

Zac Schultz:

With even the in-state surrogates appearing via Zoom.

LaTonya Johnson:

I’m Wisconsin State Senator LaTonya Johnson and I represent the 6th Senate District on Milwaukee’s north and northwest side.

Zac Schultz:

Milwaukee’s north side is one area where the lack of door knocking may hurt the most.

Gwen Moore:

You actually have to reach out and tell people what’s in it for them for voting.

Zac Schultz:

Democratic Congresswoman Gwen Moore represents Milwaukee. She’s well aware that turnout in Milwaukee’s African-American communities crashed in 2016.

Gwen Moore:

I really think that 2016 really was a lesson in having Democrats turn away from their old model of campaigning.

Zac Schultz:

She says Democrats can’t just take African-American votes for granted.

Gwen Moore:

When people have said you take certain votes for granted, they really mean it. I mean, you actually have to ask people to vote.

Zac Schultz:

With Democrats not doing doors, who is left to speak to these voters?

Donna Childs:

We want to build power through our vote. So again I’ll say more next week. But we need everyone, everyone, everyone to vote. Everyone, everyone to vote.

Zac Schultz:

The Reverend Dr. Donna Childs was just recently installed as senior pastor at Tabernacle Community Baptist Church in the heart of Milwaukee’s African-American neighborhoods.

Donna Childs:

We’ve been here as a church for 98 years, so we truly know that we are a focal point of the community.

Zac Schultz:

Reverend Childs says their church sent out members to knock doors.

Donna Childs:

For our neighborhood, they definitely are aware. As far as excitement, that varies. Many people are thinking this is critical, I must do it. Then you have some that are thinking what will it matter?

Zac Schultz:

It’s not a new problem. The area surrounding Tabernacle Community Baptist votes Democratic 99% of the time. But turnout peaked in 2012, the last time President Obama was on the ticket. The drop-off in Democratic turnout in 2014 was about 30% statewide. It was the same in the heavily African-American 6th Senate District and even ward 149, home of Tabernacle Baptist. In 2016 statewide numbers for Dems bounced back slightly, but ward 149’s turnout didn’t improve. And while 2018 saw Democrats win statewide, turnout was even lower for African-Americans in Milwaukee.

Gwen Moore:

There is absolutely no mistake that we win or lose by those margins.

Zac Schultz:

Reverend Childs says this highlights the need for human contact.

Donna Childs:

People love individual touch. And I think that’s the same with this canvassing. When people see you took time out, you sacrifice your time to walk and come to my door, what a personal touch that makes upon them and an impression that they care.

Zac Schultz:

Which brings us to the crux of the problem for Democrats. During a pandemic, how do voters know the reason you didn’t come to their door wasn’t because you don’t care, but because you care so much?

Donna Childs:

I think they leave a lot of people untouched and that could be crucial for this election.

Zac Schultz:

Reporting from Wisconsin, I’m Zac Schultz for “Here & Now.”

Frederica Freyberg:

The state reports it’s providing extra counting machine to its largest cities to handle the crush of absentee ballots being cast this election season in the midst of the pandemic.

The overflow field hospital located at State Fair Park started accepting COVID-19 patients this week. With cases surging across the state, hospitals in hotspots like the Fox Valley and northeast Wisconsin are expected to be able to transfer patients to that alternate care facility. Hospitals in that part of the state have been sounding the alarm on numbers of COVID patients coming through their doors, including our next guest. Dr. Paul Casey is the medical director of the emergency department at Bellin Hospital in Green Bay and thanks very much for being here, doctor.

Paul Casey:

You’re quite welcome.

Frederica Freyberg:

Well, Wisconsin’s field hospital, as we’ve said is, is accepting COVID patients now. Do you expect to have to send patients there?

Paul Casey:

We actually talked about that earlier today. A couple problems with the field hospital. The first is it’s 120 miles away, so it’s not logistically that convenient for our patience’ families if we send somebody 120 miles away. Although the COVID patients typically can’t have visitors. The other problem is that there’s a severe limitation to the severity of illness that the facility can handle. They have to essentially be ambulatory. If they’re diabetic, they have to be able to check their own blood sugar. The nurse to patient ratio is 1-7 so really it doesn’t offer the same level of care we can give in the hospital. So that’s going to be a limitation.

Frederica Freyberg:

Interesting. You provided us with a graph of the daily count of admitted patients with COVID-19 at your hospital. Clearly the numbers go way up starting in October. Other than sheer numbers, what do you want people to know about who these patients are and who’s most at risk?

Paul Casey:

So, that graph shows a striking rise in cases that actually started the last part of September. And I get a daily report that details the number of patients we have in the hospital. And you can see from that graph that we had kind of a nice little hump or wave back in the spring and then by, I think it was the 3rd or 4th of June, our hospital was down to one COVID inpatient. End of September, I started to notice the report I get daily, the numbers kept rising. So I plotted that all out on an excel spread sheet, generated that graph and I went, oh my goodness, we’re in for trouble here. Look how rapidly this is rising. That’s exactly what we’re seeing. And we’re seeing people of all age ranges — I shouldn’t say that. Ranging from late 20s to 70s and above. The vast majority of patients we’re seeing are 50 and above. The most vulnerable in terms of risk for mortality are elderly people. The overall mortality rate for the COVID pandemic in general is about 1% of those people who get it will die. If you’re above 70, 30% of those people will need to be admitted and 30% of those will die. The older you are, the more medical problems you have, the more risk of you dying from the disease. And that’s exactly what we’re seeing. We’re seeing elderly people who don’t go anywhere — and I ask patients when they come in to the ED very sick, I say, where do you think you got it? The other day I saw an elderly man in his late 70s who said, I don’t know. My wife and I stay home. We haven’t been anywhere. I said, who comes to visit? He said my grandchildren bring my groceries. So that’s the only way that family could have gotten the virus. And that’s the theme we’re hearing over and over and over. We had a small family birthday party, just ten of us. Nobody was sick so we thought we were safe. Turns out one of those was asymptomatic and spread it to other people and then the vulnerable ones in that population, the older people and those with other diseases are the ones who have to be hospitalized.

Frederica Freyberg:

So what would the message be there then? I mean it’s kinda like it’s not necessarily people cramming into bars or going to so-called “super spreader events,” but would that then make us believe that we should all basically be trying to self-quarantine?

Paul Casey:

The message is if it’s somebody you know that does not live in your immediate household, you need to take the precautions with that person when you get together. So I’m not saying we shouldn’t get together. But when we have meetings in the hospitals, we all wear masks. We have the tables labeled to where we can sit so we’re properly socially distanced. If you have a small family birthday party with ten people and those people aren’t living with you in your household, you should all be wearing a mask. It sounds harsh to have to say that, but that’s the only way we’re going to stem the tide of this pandemic, is not spreading it to each other. And the spread is occurring from family members or close friends. You know, you go out — I had another patient who was pretty sick. She was in her early 60s. I said, where did you get it? She said, well some of us decided to go out to a bar one night. We were all feeling fine. We thought we were safe but six of us got it.

Frederica Freyberg:

Wow. What are your projections about how long this second wave could last?

Paul Casey:

So we’ve actually done some local modeling, and the local models predict that this second wave will peak mid-November. So this will be another bell-shaped curve just like that first hump. So that takes this pandemic or this wave of the pandemic — (audio breaks up) — through this year’s holiday season.

Frederica Freyberg:

That is truly frightening. We very much appreciate your work. Thank you for what you do and thanks very much for joining us, Dr. Paul Casey.

Paul Casey:

You’re welcome. You’re welcome.

Frederica Freyberg:

In the face of a surging COVID-19 caseload in Wisconsin, health care providers and public health officials are also having to battle a parallel “info-demic” of online misinformation about the disease. Conspiracy theories that cast doubt on COVID-19 data and information are finding an enthusiastic audience in social media groups that cater toward Wisconsinites with extreme political views. Our partners at WisContext have been digging into this and how it’s making an already difficult job for public health departments all the more challenging. Look for their reporting on this topic and more next week at WisContext.org.

And as we race ever closer to Election Day, remember that Wisconsin Vote is the place for complete information on how to cast your ballots, issues and candidate profiles. Find it at WisconsinVote.org.

And that is our program for tonight. I’m Frederica Freyberg. Have a good weekend.

Announcer:

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