To the Editor:
There are many reasons to oppose bringing former Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker to Cornell’s campus. From his attacks on public sector unions (while hiding behind a unionized police force) to accepting campaign donations from a lead manufacturer before then passing laws blocking families of children poisoned by lead paint from pursuing legal remedies, to helping Catholic priests who were defrocked for “substantiated cases of sexual abuse of a minor” receive or renew professional licenses that gave child molesters access to vulnerable populations, Scott Walker is the poster boy for conservatism.
While some are shocked and insulted that he would be brought to campus, I am personally grateful that Cornell Republicans are publicly embracing unflinching conservatism as demonstrated by Walker. Although the talk will likely focus on anti-union rhetoric under the guise of the “free market,” there is no denying that by welcoming Walker to campus, Cornell Republicans are co-signing political patronage in the form of dark money donations and giving quarter to pedophiles instead of prosecuting them. For many of us on the left who oppose this behavior in the Democratic Party as well, it is a welcome relief that Republicans are finally willing to show the world who they are and what they stand for.
If you are rich and have the money to buy political favors, Cornell Republicans support you. If you are looking to attack civil servants who traded personal wealth for enriching the minds of your community, Cornell Republicans supports you. If you are a Catholic priest whose records of molestation are so severe that the Diocese defrocks you so that you need a license to work with children, Cornell Republicans are here for you (or, at least, until a political opponent brings this to national attention).
We can finally see who they are and what they believe in. Thank you, Cornell Republicans, for showing us what conservatism looks like in practice.
Irene Hartmann grad