GOP Senate Candidate Takes Bold Stand Against Alcohol Sales… In Wisconsin

Wisconsin is famous for its liquor. The Miller, Schlitz, Pabst and Blatz brands were all founded in Milwaukee, a city whose baseball team is the Brewers and which is often called the “beer capital of the world.” Statewide, bars roughly outnumber grocery stores three to one, for a total of about eight pubs per 10,000 people. To say alcohol is a major industry in Wisconsin means it accounts for more than 161,000 jobs that pay about $3.2 billion in wages annually and generate $2.6 billion in tax revenue, according to the most recent data available from the Wisconsin. Tavern Association.

That's why it's surprising to hear a political candidate running to represent the state in the US Senate say that commercializing alcohol was a bad idea. In 2017, when he was considering another run for office, Republican Eric Hovde said that, if it were up to him, alcohol would only be available to people who brew or distill it themselves. Acknowledging that it would be difficult to reverse the commercialization of alcohol, Hovde went on to say: “The horse is out of the barn and it will be difficult to bring it back.”

Hovde, a bank executive and real estate developer, is challenging Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) for her seat this fall. The campaign is Hovde's second bid for the Senate. in 2012, he lost the GOP primary to former Gov. Tommy Thompson (R), whom Baldwin later defeated in the general election.

Hovde investigate a second offer for Senate in 2018, before ultimately deciding not to jump into the race. But in May 2017, when he was still considering the possibility, he attended the Jefferson County Republican Party's “Pints ​​and Politics” event in Johnson Creek, Wisconsin, where he was asked about weed, according to a recording of the event shared on Rolling rock.

“What about legalizing marijuana?” An audience member asks Hovde. “I'm against it because I think it's a gateway, but…”

Hovde replies, “You know what? I'm also against it, and what I'm on about it is this: I have the argument that marijuana is far less harmful than any other drug—including, arguably, alcohol—and that children [might] try marijuana because it's illegal and think “Oh, I handled that, to try something harder”. Well, I get that argument from pro-marijuana people. … The easiest solution would be [be] let's just decriminalize it. Don't make it a commercial enterprise.”

“I'm a libertarian in most cases – not when it comes to drugs,” he continues. “But if someone says, 'Okay, for medicinal reasons or whatever, I want to grow a plant, I want to smoke it.' Fine. But why do we want to commercialize marijuana? I do not understand it. It's just another thing that society will have to bear the consequences and costs.”

Marijuana – both medical and recreational – remains illegal in the state of Wisconsin, para tries to decriminalize it just this legislative session. Hovde went on to suggest that cannabis should not be commercialized – adding that alcohol should never have been commercialized either.

“Well, if we just decriminalize [marijuana]? Fine. No one is going to jail. No one is going to be arrested for this. This is your self-determination, but you are not going to turn it into a business. Honestly, it should have happened with the alcohol,” Hovde says in the audio. “I mean look — alcohol has a lot of negative byproducts. If someone wanted to distill it, drink it. Fine, go ahead. But unfortunately, as we know, it has produced many negative by-products as part of society. I don't think adding more negative byproducts to society is healthy. And in saying that, I think the cat is out of the — or, the horse is out of the barn, and it's going to be hard to put him back.”

Scott Stenger, who represents the Tavern League of Wisconsin, disagrees with Hovde's remarks.

“You could probably make the same comment about Big Macs,” says Stenger Rolling rock. “I don't think that's a very informed look at the reality of the economy — whether it's in Wisconsin or anywhere.

“Like anything else – whether it's a hamburger or alcohol – there's a way to enjoy it responsibly,” he adds. “To deny that it is not part of our economy is simply not looking at the facts. Is. It's an important part of our economy, and I think regulators and lawmakers understand that.”

Ben Voelkel, Hovde's spokesman, says the candidate still supports decriminalization of marijuana and that he “proudly supports Wisconsin's breweries, distilleries and wineries.”

As Rolling rock previously reported, Hovde's holding company, Hovde Properties, purchased the Silver Dollar Tavern, the oldest bar in Madison, in November after a decades-long campaign to buy and demolish the beloved dive bar to make way for a proposed new development.

Shortly after deciding to avoid a Senate term in 2018, Hovde, who was born and raised in Wisconsin, bought an ocean-view mansion in Laguna Beach, California — a short drive from H's Irvine offices. Bancorp, the $2.9 billion “banking services” company where he serves as chairman and CEO. Wisconsin Democrats have repeatedly raised questions about Hovde's ties to Southern California since he entered the race last month.

Hovde responded to the criticism by publishing a video of himself sitting on a frozen lake and inviting Baldwin to join him. “Let's actually see who's from Wisconsin,” he says in the video.

Hovde's anti-drinking comments could raise more questions about his badgers in the Badger State. But Voelkel, Hovde's spokesman, doesn't seem too worried. “Change is underway this year, and Democrats will do everything they can to distract from the fact that Senator Baldwin's 25 years in Washington have been froth and no beer.”