Forty years ago in a long-lost place, I worked for a short spell for three Republican state legislators. Only one of the three would stand any chance of being welcomed in today’s Republican Party, and he’d be hanging on by a thread. The other two would have had to renounce many of their views and recalibrate most of their positions to avoid excommunication.
One favored abortion rights, a phosphate ban and emission restrictions to curb acid rain. She stood alone among Wisconsin Republicans in backing marital property reform recognizing and valuing the contributions of stay-at-home spouses until she eventually talked a handful of her GOP colleagues into joining her, building enough bipartisan momentum for the landmark legislation to be passed into law.
Her actions did not make her the most liberal Republican in our state’s legislature at the time. At least a half dozen others were in contention for that distinction. But her stances did put her to the left of at least a half dozen conserva…
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