Bush in Richland Center

I used to live in Richland Center. It is one of the poorest counties in Wisconsin. It now may be the poorest in Wisconsin due to the Casinos for the tribes. 2400 people would be about half the population of the town which is around 5000. Very hilly, very rural feeling and very poor prospects for people that want to accomplish much. Many of the old farmers paid for their farms by growing hemp before and during WWII for the federal government. Used it to make ropes for the ships.

Many of the farmers had their farms stolen during the 70's when the banks gave out money on high land prices and called their loans when the land prices fell. Many, many farmers lost their farms. Big corporate farmers took over the good land. The industries are low paying jobs in assembly of stuff. Many of those jobs are going overseas. If you are lucky, you teach. If you are really lucky, you have a job in Madison with the State which is about 60 miles away.

Lots of die hard republicans that I guess vote republican for the security. During Vietnam, if you were drafted out of Richland County, you were a draftee Marine. Draftee Marines were expendable....

Not a bad place to live if you get your money from somewhere else. Nice small town atmosphere. But a real dead end town. Why would Bush waste his time here?




Dee J. Hall Wisconsin State JournalOctober 27, 2004RICHLAND CENTER - During his swing Tuesday through western Wisconsin, President Bush held up four examples of how his economic policies have helped average Americans, including two area business owners who said Bush's policies give them more money to invest in their companies.
Bush, in shirt sleeves, was animated and jovial during the talk before 2,400 people at Richland Center High School gymnasium. He focused on the economy but also touched on the war on terrorism, health care, education and a proposed constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage.
Bush's daylong bus tour through western Wisconsin began with a 5,000-person rally in Onalaska in the morning, a stop at a dairy farm near Bosstown, the talk in Richland Center at mid-day and a 1,500- person rally in Cuba City. Bush then headed to Dubuque in Iowa, another Midwestern swing state.
At each stop, the president trumpeted his multibillion- dollar tax cuts, which he said have boosted the economy. Much of the region, except for Richland County, went to Democrat Al Gore in 2000, who won the state by 5,700 votes. Recent polls say this year's race in Wisconsin is too close to call.
During his hour-long talk in Richland Center, Bush struck back at challenger Sen. John Kerry's proposal to repeal his tax cut for those earning $200,000 or more, saying raising taxes on the top two tax brackets would harm the small businesses that create 70 percent of new jobs.
"About 90 percent of small businesses pay individual income taxes," Bush said. "The truth is they're talking about taxing about 900,000 to a million small businesses."
Bush was seeking to shore up support for his domestic policies among Wisconsin's voters, who tend to trust Kerry more when it comes to handling such issues, according to a recent Wisconsin Public Radio/St. Norbert College Survey Center poll. It found that 56 percent of voters thought Kerry would do better on the economy, compared to 38 percent for Bush.
The Bush campaign also announced that the president plans to return Friday for a rally in Ashwaubenon, near Green Bay.
Bush said Tuesday the economy has done well despite "obstacles" he faced when he took office.
"The stock market was in serious decline six months prior to our arrival in Washington, D.C.," Bush said. "And then we had a recession . . . and then we got attacked. And that attack of September 11th cost us nearly 1 million jobs in the three months after the attack.
"But we acted. The tax relief we passed is working. The tax relief we passed has got this economy going again."
Although the overall number of jobs is down since Bush took office - a point Kerry has hammered on in nearly every campaign appearance - the president said 1.9 million jobs have been added in the last 13 months.
"We're moving forward, and we're not going to go back to the days of tax and spend," Bush said, taking a swipe at Kerry, whom he called a "Massachusetts liberal" on the "far left bank" of American politics.
Among those whose story was highlighted Tuesday in Richland Center was Eric Sauey, president of Seats Inc. of Reedsburg, a seat- manufacturing firm with $45 million in annual sales. Sauey said lower taxes allow him to invest in his company, which he hopes to expand to Richland Center.
"My opponent always says he's planning to tax the rich," Bush said. "You're looking at the rich. You're looking at a man who says, 'We may come to Richland Center. We may hire new people.'"
Bush supporter Melinda Jones of Richland Center said the main reason she plans to vote for the president is not his economic policies but because of "the way he handled the 9-11 attacks. He took control and he remained calm."
As for the economy, Jones said, "I know it's been tough for a lot of people. I know it's improving. I just hope it can improve more and create more jobs."