Sexual Assault Bill, Rural Wisconsin Initiative, How Fear Of Terrorism Affects Voters

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• Presidential Candidates Offering Few Serious Solutions To Terrorist Threats, Says Professor

  Presidential candidates aren’t offering voters serious solutions to stopping terrorist attacks that they fear could be coming to the U.S., according to a global studies professor.

  A New York Times/CBS News poll from December shows Americans are more fearful of a terrorist attack than any time since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Almost half of the people polled said they believe an attack is “very likely” to occur on U.S. soil in the next few months, and seven out of 10 people said the fight against the Islamic State group is going badly.

  Here in Wisconsin, those fears may have been elevated Tuesday when the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that FBI agents foiled a plot for a mass shooting at a Masonic Temple in downtown Milwaukee.

  Jeremi Suri, professor of history and public affairs at the University of Texas-Austin, said he has yet to hear a presidential candidate offer a “smart” policy on national security. He said he believes the “distorted” rhetoric coming from the candidates preys on the fears of citizens in order to climb in the polls — especially now with the Iowa caucuses a week away.

  “We are looking for easy answers and candidates are playing to this abstract fear and desire to blame someone else for it,” he said. “I think a lot of the anti-immigration rhetoric we’re hearing is about that.”

  Suri added that he thinks these kind of statements come from emotion rather than logic or reason.

  “The notion that refugees are somehow a terrorist threat to our country, that’s not a policy position on terrorism. That’s an emotional reaction that’s being channeled in a very dangerous direction by a lot of candidates out there,” he said.

  It’s a sentiment recently echoed by Robert Gates, the former U.S. secretary of defense, who recently criticized Republican presidential candidates when he told reporters that “the level of dialogue on national security issues would embarrass a middle schooler.”

  “Either (Republican candidates) really believe what they’re saying or they’re cynical and opportunistic and, in a way, you hope it’s the latter, because God forbid they actually believe some of the things that they’re saying,” Gates said.

  Suri said it’s time voters demand candidates to provide serious solutions to terrorist threats. Those solutions, he said, should begin with assessing American interest and expectations in foreign policy and evaluate ways to bring stability to the Middle East.

  He added that Americans need to look deep inside themselves and recognize that, in some ways, the threat of terrorism comes from within U.S. society.

  “If you’re an American, the terrorism you really have to worry most about is a white, Christian male with a gun, and we need to include that in the conversation if we’re really going to be talking about terrorism,” Suri said.

  It’s not clear yet, said Suri, how much of an impact national security issues will play during the upcoming primary season. What is clear, he said is the fear of terrorist attacks don’t seem to be affecting Americans’ everyday behavior. The airports are still crowded and people are traveling, he said.

• New Legislation Would Provide Amnesty From Underage Drinking Punishment When Reporting Sexual Assault

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  A new bill announced this week would make it a statewide practice to provide underage drinking amnesty for sexual assault victims when they report the incident to the police. Joan Ballweg–Republican Assembly Representative for Markesan–discusses why she wanted to co-author this legislation.

• Legislation Aims To Boost Rural Wisconsin

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  A state lawmaker shares a series of bills aimed at boosting the economy and living standards in rural Wisconsin.

• How Fear Of Terrorism Is Affecting Voters

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  A New York Times/CBS News poll from December shows Americans are more fearful of a terrorist attack than any time since 9-11. Almost half of the people polled said they believe an attack is “very likely” to occur here in the next few months, and 7 out of 10 people said the fight against ISIS is going badly. We talk to a foreign relations expert about how the fear of terrorism is affecting voters and could play into the results of the Iowa caucuses.