Profiles in Cowardice: WI State Assembly Rep. Keith Ripp (R-Lodi)
MADISON: On Sept. 16, I published the first article in the series, “Profile in Cowardice” on the actions of WI State Assembly Rep. Steve Kestell (R-Elkhart Lake). This time we’ll be taking another look at Rep. Keith Ripp (R-Lodi) who represents Wisconsin’s 47th Assembly district. The 47th sits in northern Dane County and southern Columbia County.
Ripp first won election to the seat, long represented by GOP moderate Eugene Hahn, a supporter of industrial hemp and medical cannabis, by a 30-vote margin in a recount in 2008. Ripp is again facing Trish O’Neil, the opponent he defeated in the 2008 recount. Ripp’s Assembly bio notes he is a farmer and small business owner and will turn 49 this November. It does not list any military service.
During the 2009-2010 session, a former US Marine Sergeant who had served three tours in Iraq, Erin Silbaugh, repeatedly contacted Ripp. Silbaugh, suffering from severe PTSD, asked Ripp to support AB554/SB368 the Jacki Rickert Medical Marijuana Act (JRMMA). The JRMMA specifically lists PTSD as a qualifying condition. Only the state of New Mexico currently explicitly includes PTSD as a qualifying condition. Had the JRMMA passed, Wisconsin would have been a leader in making medical cannabis therapy available to those suffering post traumatic stress.
