Republicans Gather For Convention, As Democrat Hulsey Protests Outside

State Republicans are gathering in Milwaukee for their annual political convention; Democratic candidate for governor Brett Hulsey also made an appearance outside the convention hall.

Gov. Scott Walker is expected to be one of the key speakers at the Republican convention as he ramps up his re-election bid. The party is also likely to consider a resolution that would assert Wisconsin’s right to secede from the United States, as well additional limits on abortion.

Walker says the fracturing of the party is overstated, specifically calling out Milwaukee newspaper columnist Dan Bice, who has written on some of the diverse philosophies of Republicans.

“I think you’ve got a columnist in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel who’s chosen to hone in on one particular group of a handful of people, when the vast, vast majority of Republicans at the convention across the state are going to focus on the most important issue,” said Walker.

Walker argues the real story is the lowering of the unemployment rate over the last few years, the projected state budget surplus, and the freezing of University of Wisconsin tuition.

On Friday afternoon, about 10 reporters crowded around state Rep. Brett Hulsey, D-Madison, a candidate for governor, as he arrived outside the Milwaukee convention hall dressed in gray with yellow duct tape.

“Today I’m dressing up as Major Bass Ackward,” said Hulsey. “This is a Confederate officer uniform – the best I could do at the thrift stores in the Madison area. I’m here to highlight Governor Walker and the Republican’s racist agenda.”

Hulsey says several Republican moves over the last four years have disproportionately hurt people of color. He said that after hearing criticisms of his plan to hand white Ku Klux Klan hoods to Republican delegates, he decided to leave the hoods in his car, and instead march backwards to a Walker fundraiser.