By Paris Procopis, January 22, 2023

Anybody who has read my articles over the years knows that I am no stranger to going against the Republican Party leadership status quo when necessary.

I have been going after outgoing Milwaukee County Chairman David Karst for years, and more recently, I have gone after Dane County Chairman, Scott Grabins. Why? They both have ineffective and failing records as chairmen of their respective counties. They like to ‘talk’ but rarely if ever, seem to act.

Like I said above, take on Republican leaders ‘when necessary,’ and in the case of both Karst and Grabins, it was TOTALLY NECESSARY. Unfortunately, some Republicans feel the need to unnecessarily take on one of the few effective Republican County leaders in Wisconsin.

To quote Joe Biden, ‘C’mon man!’

I just received word that someone is planning to challenge Waukesha County Chairman Terry Dittrich. WHAT?!?

Clearly, anybody has the right to challenge any leader, but this one makes absolutely zero sense. I have no issue with the challenger, but I do have an issue with what seems to be behind the challenge. More on that later.

When Terry was elected as Chairman of the Waukesha GOP in 2019, he was a breath of fresh air, because he showed he’s a man of action, not just a talker. He’s done everything from helping to protect the Kooyenga State Senate Seat to helping conceive and spearhead the incredibly successful WisRed Initiative.

Even in the difficult Republican election of 2022, Terry Dittrich managed to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat for the State Senate and State Assembly.

With State Senator Dale Kooyenga choosing not to run for reelection at the 11th hour, this left a dangerous void in the 5th Senate District. With little time to spare, it was Terry Dittrich who took the lead and helped recruit Rob Hutton to run for and eventually WIN the seat.

This seat gave Republicans a supermajority in the State Senate. And frankly, saved me from being represented by a total crackpot in the Senate. This is to say nothing about the Assembly Seats Waukesha County picked up under Terry Dittrich’s watch.

Then, there’s the WisRed Initiative.

IT WAS BRILLIANT and had NEVER been tried by Republicans in Wisconsin. The Republican Party would traditionally sit out local races statewide because they were considered ‘non-partisan.’ But why, the Democrats are doing it? Terry Dittrich challenged history and spearheaded the effort to get the Republican Party involved in recruiting and running Conservatives for local seats like City council and school board.

In Waukesha County, the largest Republican voter base in the state, Republicans would normally get trounced in these races, but that changed with WisRed. Because of Republican Party Involvement in Waukesha County, Conservatives were able to win in excess of 350 of these seats over the past three election cycles.

In fact, it’s so successful that another group wants to take over the initiative in Waukesha County so they can claim credit for the successful WisRed strategy in their own future political runs. Perhaps that group should focus on other counties? But that’s another subject altogether.

The reality is, we shouldn’t be voting Terry Dittrich out, he should be reelected and his SUCCESSFUL efforts need to be duplicated throughout the state. Heck, with the fact that Democrats have been owning local offices for decades, I’d say this needs to be duplicated nationwide.

I cannot think of any reason to replace a rare workhorse like Terry Dittrich at this juncture. The numbers matter and they are heavily in his favor. Sadly, I fear there is something more sinister, and frankly petty, at play here.

Why would someone try to derail one of the more successful GOP operations in the State bu removing its Chairman?

It clearly comes down to the fact that he Dittrich had the audacity to remain publicly neutral for the 2022 Governor primary rather than bend the knee and gravel at the feet of the self-proclaimed ‘chosen one.’ And now that Camp is aggressively trying to exact its revenge by picking off anyone who didn’t do as they were told in the primary. I am also hearing of a similar effort in Ozaukee County with the same suspicious framework.

Could somebody be strategically working to have ‘YES’ people in place in key county leadership to prepare for someone’s forthcoming US Senate race? Hmmmmm?

If this camp had worked even half as hard in the effort to elect Tim Michels, perhaps we would have had a different result. Of course, we got nothing but crickets from them, but now they feel entitled to control the most important Republican County in the state.

As I said, PETTY, and frankly childish. It’s sad that people are still engaged in fighting the same primary battle of 2022 when there are more important things than coddling the fragile ego of a former Governor candidate.

So, here’s the scoop. Terry Dittrich has proven and has earned re-election as Chairman of the Waukesha County Republican Party. He’s arguably incredibly successful and the most important County Chairman in the state.

In order to vote at the Caucus, you must be a current member of the Waukesha County Republican Party. Also, YOU MUST BE PRESENT at the Caucus to vote, that date is Saturday, February 25th, from 9:30 am-Noon.

There is plenty of ‘noise’ out there that should be largely ignored. Some even attack Terry Dittrich’s passionate and outspoken personality by saying he’s ‘too confident’ or ‘too cocky’ for their tastes. But, as Rush Limbaugh is famous for saying, ‘It ain’t braggin’ if you can do it.’

On the Waukesha County Republican website, Dittrich states, ‘My goal as Chairman is to make sure the Republican Party of Waukesha County continues to “Lead the Way” in the County, State and nationally to promote the conservative principles that made this country great!’

Waukesha and Wisconsin both need more like Terry Dittrich throughout the state, not less.