Tom Tiffany does not want to answer to the people of Wisconsin. That much is clear from how he conducts himself in office and approaches his role as a public servant. It was evident this March in Wausau, where dozens of Wisconsinites gathered outside his office with a sincere and straightforward demand: to be heard. They stood in the cold with signs and voices, asking their congressman for something fundamental to democracy that should not be controversial or difficult. They wanted a town hall.
This wasn’t some partisan stunt or manufactured outrage. These were veterans, retirees, teachers, students, and working parents from across the district. Doug Schultz had driven from Sayner to share his concerns. Nancy Stencil of Wausau pointed out that Congress was on recess. It was the perfect time for elected officials to reconnect with the people who put them in office. Scott Wallace, a veteran from Tomahawk, asked what many others were thinking. How could cutting sixty thousand positions at the VA possibly help veterans receive the care and support they have earned?
Tom Tiffany never came to meet them. He had other plans that day, attending a closed-door event focused on transgender athletes, a hot-button issue designed more to divide than to solve anything. It’s telling that he chose the latter when given the choice between engaging in real conversation with constituents and participating in a private ideological forum. And this is not an isolated occurrence. It fits into a broader pattern of evasion and avoidance that defines Tiffany’s political approach. When the stakes are real and the questions difficult, he disappears.
He has not held a public town hall since late January, despite constituents asking, pleading even, for the chance to speak with him directly. His office responded to the protests with a brief and generic statement thanking people for sharing their opinions. He insisted he would continue communicating in “a myriad of ways.” But what does that even mean when face-to-face interaction is off the table? When your neighbors are outside in the cold hoping to talk to you, and you’re too busy hiding behind press statements and private invitations? This disregard for their sincere and straightforward demand is truly disappointing, and it's a feeling that resonates with many Wisconsinites.
This retreat from accountability speaks volumes. Tiffany is not running to represent the people of Wisconsin. He is running to rule without listening. He is a politician in the mold of the new hard right, who views public input as an obstacle and treats opposition as a nuisance rather than a vital part of governance. His refusal to meet openly with the people he represents is not just arrogance. It is a quiet declaration that he does not believe he owes the public an explanation. He thinks he knows best and that questions, doubts, and criticisms from everyday Wisconsinites are beneath him.
This pattern of disregard extends far beyond town halls and budget votes. Most recently, Tiffany co-sponsored a bill that would abolish the U.S. Department of Education by the end of next year, signaling a radical shift in how public education is governed in America. Cloaked in the language of “local control,” the proposal would strip away federal oversight to ensure equal opportunity and student protection nationwide. Tiffany claimed, “Parents, teachers, and local communities should educate our children.” Still, his real aim is to dismantle the federal framework that upholds standards, enforces civil rights protections, and allocates crucial funding to underserved schools. Rather than strengthen our educational system, this move would create a patchwork of inequality, where access to quality education becomes a zip code lottery. It’s not just misguided. It’s dangerous and another example of Tiffany turning his back on the people he’s meant to serve in favor of extreme ideological posturing. This should be a cause for concern for all Wisconsinites.
If this is how Tom Tiffany behaves in Congress, imagine the consequences of handing him the reins of Wisconsin’s entire public education system. As governor, he could shape the state’s education agenda, appoint leaders to oversee schools and push legislation that mirrors his federal ambitions. His co-sponsorship of a bill to abolish the U.S. Department of Education is not just a symbolic gesture; it’s a warning shot. Tiffany doesn’t believe in a strong, equitable public education system. He believes in dismantling it. Under his leadership, Wisconsin could see devastating cuts to public school funding, a rollback of inclusive curricula, and increased privatization that leaves rural and underserved communities behind. With control over the governor’s office, Tiffany could turn our schools into battlegrounds for culture wars instead of places of learning and opportunity. The potential consequences of this are truly alarming.
Regardless, some still see him as fit to be governor. Concerningly, he did take a commanding lead in the Wisconsin Federation of College Republicans’ gubernatorial straw poll, where he secured seventy-six percent of the vote. But this is hardly a statewide referendum. It reflects the growing influence of a narrow and ideologically extreme segment of the Republican Party, one that confuses dominance with leadership and conflates ideological purity with moral conviction. The enthusiasm of that base should not distract from the fact that Tom Tiffany’s vision for Wisconsin is deeply out of step with the broader values and needs of the people he claims to represent.
This vision became even clearer in April when Tiffany flip-flopped on a crucial budget measure. He and other so-called fiscal hawks initially objected to the Senate’s Republican budget plan, arguing that four billion dollars in proposed cuts were insufficient. Tiffany dismissed it as “chump change.” But within forty-eight hours, he reversed course and voted in favor of the bill. The only change? Senate leadership promised to seek one and a half trillion dollars in spending cuts.
In Tiffany’s world, there is no such thing as too deep. Cutting social programs is not a policy choice. It is a moral crusade. He does not see the human impact of slashing funding for Medicaid, housing assistance, and veterans’ services. He sees numbers on a page and the chance to prove his loyalty to a narrow ideology. His sudden change of heart was not about new information or a fresh analysis. It was about pleasing party leaders and demonstrating that he would go farther, cut deeper, and bend quicker than anyone else in the room.
Even members of his party were frustrated. Representative Derrick Van Orden accused Tiffany and his fellow holdouts of being more interested in attention and power plays than in advancing government work. And while Tiffany claimed his maneuvering was all about holding the line on spending, the reality is far less principled. It was political theater dressed up as fiscal responsibility, a hollow performance meant to score points rather than deliver results. Meanwhile, Democrats like Representative Gwen Moore of Milwaukee rightly warned that these cuts would devastate real people. When healthcare and support programs are gutted, it is not the wealthy or the powerful who suffer. It is the everyday families struggling to make ends meet, older people relying on consistent medical care, and the children growing up in communities already stretched thin.
Tiffany’s record shows us exactly what kind of governor he would be. He is not someone interested in bringing people together or finding common ground. He is not willing to be challenged or adapt when reality demands it. He is a politician who prizes ideological loyalty over public service and sees the government's machinery as a tool for control rather than a platform for justice.
Wisconsin deserves so much more than this. We deserve leaders who show up, listen, and are not afraid to answer complex questions from disagreeing people. We deserve leaders who believe that compromise is not a weakness and that public service means putting people above the party. Tiffany has had every chance to prove he could be that leader. Instead, he has proven again and again that he is not interested.
He will smile, talk about freedom, wave the flag, and quote the Constitution. But freedom without accountability is not freedom at all. It is ruled by fiat. It is a politics of exclusion, silence, and fear. It is not the Wisconsin we know and love. His actions stand in stark contrast to the values of accountability and engagement that Wisconsin holds dear, leaving a sense of betrayal in their wake.
In the coming months, as the race for governor unfolds, the people of this state will have a choice, not just between parties or platforms but between two very different ideas of what democracy means: one in which elected officials serve the people with humility and openness and another in which power is held tight and public voices are ignored. The urgency of this choice cannot be overstated, and everyone is responsible.
Tom Tiffany has made his choice clear. Now, it is up to the rest of Wisconsin to make theirs.
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