The loud parts through a megaphone

You can accuse Wisconsin Republicans of many things, but you can’t accuse them of being subtle:

Robert Spindell is longtime GOP activist in Wisconsin, one of those ubiquitous figures who shows up at every Lincoln Day dinner, fundraiser, and meetings of the Republican Bowling and Macrame Club. He is also the chairman of the GOP’s 4th congressional district in Milwaukee, and was one of the fake electors who claimed that Donald Trump won in Wisconsin. Spindell faces three lawsuits for his role in that attempted fraud.

He also, apparently, likes to put things in writing.

Longtime conservative commentator James Wigderson recounts the latest bombshell:

[Getting] away with being a part of Trump’s coup attempt wasn’t enough for Spindell. In the email, as reported by Urban Milwaukee, Spindell wrote:

“In the City of Milwaukee, with the 4th Congressional District Republican Party working very closely with the RPW, RNC, Republican Assembly & Senate Campaign Committees, Statewide Campaigns and RPMC in the Black and Hispanic areas, we can be especially proud of the City of Milwaukee (80.2% Dem Vote) casting 37,000 less votes than cast in the 2018 election with the major reduction happening in the overwhelming Black and Hispanic areas.”

Indeed, as the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported, “Milwaukee had the biggest proportional decline of any municipality in the county… Some 17% fewer ballots were cast in the city than in 2018, a drop off bigger than other communities in the county.”

Spindell wanted to take credit for the decline — especially the decline in Hispanic and Black areas — claiming that it was the result of a “well thought out multi-faceted plan,” that included:

• “Biting Black Radio Negative Commercials run last few weeks of the election cycle straight at Dem Candidates…
• A substantial & very effective Republican Coordinated Election Integrity program resulting with lots of Republican paid Election Judges & trained Observers & extremely significant continued Court Litigation.”

Spindell emphasized why discouraging voting in places like Milwaukee was a sound strategy: “In a Democrat City or Democrat County where up to 80% of the people are voting for the Democrats – that’s a good thing and helped insure that Sen. Johnson got over the goal line.”

There are way too many people who are complacent about Republican vote suppression efforts because turnout was relatively high in 2020. In competitive elections margins matter, and Republicans are willing to keep escalating.